Epidemiological Characterization of Clinical Fungal Isolates from Pauls Stradinš Clinical University Hospital, Latvia: A 4-Year Surveillance Report

Abstract

Nosocomial fungal infections are an emerging global public health threat that requires urgent attention and proper management. With the limited availability of treatment options, it has become necessary to understand the emerging epidemiological trends, mechanisms, and risk factors. However, very limited surveillance reports are available in the Latvian and broader European context. We therefore conducted a retrospective analysis of laboratory data (2017–2020) from Pauls Stradinš Clinical University Hospital (PSCUH), Riga, Latvia, which is one of the largest public multispecialty hospitals in Latvia. A total of 2278 fungal isolates were analyzed during the study period, with Candida spp. comprising 95% of the isolates, followed by Aspergillus spp. and Geotrichum spp. Amongst the Candida spp., C. albicans and C. glabrata made up about 75% of the isolates. The Department of Lung Diseases and Thoracic Surgery had the highest caseload followed by Intensive Care Department. Majority of the fungal isolates were collected from the bronchoalveolar lavage (37%), followed by urine (19%) and sputum (18%) samples. A total of 34 cases of candidemia were noted during the study period with C. albicans being the most common candidemia pathogen. Proper surveillance of emerging epidemiological trends serve as the most reliable and powerful cornerstone towards tackling this emerging threat.

Early Response of Antimicrobial Resistance and Virulence Genes Expression in Classical, Hypervirulent, and Hybrid hvKp-MDR Klebsiella pneumoniae on Antimicrobial Stress

“…K. pneumoniae was one of the major nosocomial pathogens in a Moscow neurosurgery ICU during the period from January 2014 to May 2019, causing about 28% infections including those of the central nervous system, bloodstream, respiratory tract, and urinary tract. This rate was similar to those in the Multispecialty Hospital, Riga, Latvia in 2017–2020 (16–20%) [ 11 ], and significantly lower than those reported from 15 China centers in 2012–2016 (52.4%) [ 12 ].…”

Exploring Anticandidal and Antibiofilm Potentials of Synthesized N-(Substitutedbenzylidene)-4,6-Dimethoxypyrimidin-2-Amine Analogues

“…All the starting materials and reagents were of analytical grade purchased from commercial sources (Alfa Aesar) and were used without further purification. 1 H NMR spectra were recorded (at NIPER Hyderabad) in solvent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-d6 using BRUKER AV 500MHz (Germany). Chemical shifts were reported in δ ppm with Tetramethylsilane as an internal standard (TMS, δ = 0.0).…”

“…Candidiasis is mainly caused by Candida albicans. [1][2][3] Morphologically, is a versatile microbe that exists in three forms i.e. yeasts, pseudohyphae, and hyphae.…”

Fungal isolation and identification from parrot excreta in northeast Iran: A threat to human health

“…Also,Abbas et al (2017) reported 88% fungal contamination in 70 samples of pigeon faeces, 25 samples of domestic bird faeces, and 5 samples of chicken faeces.The findings of the present study showed that the faeces of different birds, including parrots, could be the habitat of pathogenic and opportunistic fungal species, including C. neoformans and Candida species, and cause their spread in the living environment of humans and animals. Since in recent years, the occurrence of cryptococcosis and other opportunistic systemic fungal infections in patients with immune system deficiency, including those with AIDS, has increased significantly(Jain et al, 2021), parrot droppings should be considered a source of danger for public health. Cryptococcus species especially C. neoformans and C. gatti cause illness in humans(Pakshir et al, 2018).The presence of C. neoformans in bird droppings is one of the possible routes of transmission of cryptococcosis to humans.…”