Infantile seborrhoeic dermatitis and Pityrosporum ovale.

Twenty children (mean age 9 weeks) with infantile seborrhoeic dermatitis (ISD) were investigated with cultures for bacteria, Pityrosporum ovale and other fungi, and 20 healthy children served as controls. P. ovale and Staphylococcus aureus were the dominant organisms. P. ovale was cultured in 18 of 20 infants with ISD as compared to 4 of 20 controls. S. aureus was cultured in 14 of 20 infants with ISD as compared to 1 of 20 controls. The role of S. aureus in ISD is not known, but it could be a secondary invader as is supposed in atopic dermatitis (AD). Even if P. ovale may be suspected as the aetiological agent of ISD further studies are needed to clarify the exact role of the organism in ISD.