Candida africana is a pathogenic species within the Candida albicans species complex. Due to the limited knowledge concerning its prevalence and antifungal susceptibility profiles, a comprehensive study is overdue. Accordingly, we performed a search of the electronic databases for literature published in the English language between 1 January 2001 and 21 March 2020. Citations were screened, relevant articles were identified, and data were extracted to determine overall intra- C . albicans complex prevalence, geographical distribution, and antifungal susceptibility profiles for C . africana . From a total of 366 articles, 41 were eligible for inclusion in this study. Our results showed that C . africana has a worldwide distribution. The pooled intra- C . albicans complex prevalence of C . africana was 1.67% (95% CI 0.98–2.49). Prevalence data were available for 11 countries from 4 continents. Iran (3.02%, 95%CI 1.51–4.92) and Honduras (3.03%, 95% CI 0.83–10.39) had the highest values and Malaysia (0%) had the lowest prevalence. Vaginal specimens were the most common source of C . africana (92.81%; 155 out of 167 isolates with available data). However, this species has also been isolated from cases of balanitis, from patients with oral lesions, and from respiratory, urine, and cutaneous samples. Data concerning the susceptibility of C . africana to 16 antifungal drugs were available in the literature. Generally, the minimum inhibitory concentrations of antifungal drugs against this species were low. In conclusion, C . africana demonstrates geographical variation in prevalence and high susceptibility to antifungal drugs. However, due to the relative scarcity of existing data concerning this species, further studies will be required to establish more firm conclusions.

ObjectivesThis study aims to provide an overview of the prevalence, distribution, and causative agents of fungal keratitis.MethodsAll the articles with data on the prevalence of fungal keratitis among various patient groups from January 1, 1990 to May 27, 2020 were retrieved through a systematic search in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Data were extracted, and the pooled estimated prevalence of fungal keratitis, yeast/mold infection, the spectrum and frequency of various causative agents, and the pooled estimated prevalence of mixed infections were calculated in general and in various countries (wherever possible) using meta-analysis.ResultsFrom 11,235 articles retrieved in the primary search step, 169 met the inclusion criteria. The 169 eligible articles were divided into six groups and analyzed separately. The pooled prevalence of fungal keratitis was variable with values ranging from 0.05% among postkeratoplasty patients to 43.01% among patients with a clinical suspicion of fungal keratitis. There was also a country-dependent variation in the prevalence (Paraguay: 50.1% (95% CI, 35.11, 65.00); Ireland: 1.1% (95% CI, 0.03, 6.04)). Except for postkeratoplasty cases (yeast: 51.80%), in all patient groups, molds were more common than yeasts. Although more than 50 distinct species of fungi have been found to cause fungal keratitis, Fusarium species followed by Aspergillus species were the most common causes of the disease. In general, 9.29% (95% CI, 6.52, 12.38) of fungal keratitis cases were mixed with bacterial agents.ConclusionThe prevalence of fungal keratitis can vary dramatically depending on the patient groups and geographical origin; however, the dominant causative agents are generally similar.

BackgroundAirborne fungi are responsible for the majority of fungal infections in humans and animals. Outdoor air markedly influences the prevalence of fungal spore levels in indoor air and thus, it is the major source of fungal infections in indoor environments especially in hospitalized individuals.MethodsUsing a settle plate method, air sampling (1092 air samples from 93 sampling sites in 22 geographic regions of Tehran) was performed by exposing 90 mm settle plates containing Malt extract agar and Potato dextrose agar to the air for 30 min. The plates were incubated at 28°C for 2–3 weeks and examined daily for visible fungal growth. Purified fungal colonies were identified at the genus level based on morphological criteria according to standard methods.ResultsA total of 6455 colonies belonging to 24 different fungal genera were isolated. Area V situated in the city center was the most contaminated region with 2523 fungal colonies (39.1%), while area IV in the West showed the least contamination rate (636 colonies; 9.8%). Airborne fungi isolated were classified into 4 classes including hyaline Hyphomycetes (53.5%), dematiaceous Hyphomycetes (41.6%), Zygomycetes (2.8%) and Coelomycetes (0.2%). Aspergillus (31.3%) was the most prominent isolated fungus followed by Cladosporium (22.1%), Penicillium (13.8%) and Alternaria (12.2%).ConclusionOur results indicate that outdoor air is a potential threat to public health because of harboring a wide array of pathogenic and allergenic airborne fungal spores which can serve as the main source of contamination of indoor environments such as homes, offices and hospitals.

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Candida auris is a drug-resistant pathogen with several reported outbreaks. The treatment of C. auris infections is difficult due to a limited number of available antifungal drugs. Thus, finding alternative drugs through repurposing approaches would be clinically beneficial. A systematic search in PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases, as well as Google Scholar up to 1 November 2021, was conducted to find all articles with data regarding the antifungal activity of non-antifungal drugs against the planktonic and biofilm forms of C. auris. During database and hand searching, 290 articles were found, of which 13 were eligible for inclusion in the present study.

Since its initial isolation from the external ear sample of a Japanese patient in 2009, 1 Candida auris has been reported from numerous countries on five different continents. [2][3][4][5][6] Candida auris, which is often misdiagnosed as either other Candida or non-Candida species by conventional laboratory tests, 7,8 is capable of colonising the human body, especially the skin of patients, and is shed extensively

Background and Purpose: Naganishia albida (formerly Cryptococcus albidus) is a non-neoformans cryptococcal species rarely isolated as a human pathogen.Case report:Herein, we present the case of a 26-year-old Iranian man with a superficial cutaneous lesion in the axilla. The initial treatment for pityriasis versicolor by clotrimazole was unsuccessful. We performed skin sampling based on the standard protocol and conducted further investigations by the conventional laboratory tests and molecular analysis of the skin samples. All the mentioned analyses revealed N. albida as the causative agent of infection. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) analysis was carried out for the isolated agent, and the patient was treated using 100 mg daily of oral itraconazole.Conclusion: N. albida can be the causative agent of some superficial infections. This is the first report on the successful detection and treatment of a superficial skin infection due to N. albida by oral itraconazole.

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