Candida species epidemiology 2000–2013: a laboratory‐based report

Abstract

Abstractobjective To describe a prospective laboratory-based surveillance of Candida species that were collected from different anatomical sites of patients admitted to the University of Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia, from the year 2000 to 2013.methods Conventional (culture, microscopic examination and carbohydrate assimilation test) and molecular (PCR amplification and DNA sequencing) techniques were used to identify Candida species.results A total of 16 Candida species isolated from 34 392 clinical samples were from the oral cavity (oral swabs and throat swabs), blood, respiratory tract (sputum, tracheal secretions, nasopharyngeal aspirates, bronchoalveolar lavage), high vaginal swab, pus and urine. C. albicans (66.70%, 22 941/34 392), C. glabrata (11.71%, 4029/34 392), C. parapsilopsis (10.74%, 3692/ 34 392), C. tropicalis (9.19%, 3162/34 392) and C. krusei (1.15%, 396/34 392) were the five predominant Candida species. C. albicans was the predominant species isolated from the oral cavity, respiratory tract and high vaginal swab; while the Candida species isolated from blood, urine and pus were predominant non-albicans Candida. Uncommon Candida species, such as C. lusitaniae, C. haemulonii, C. humicola, Pichia ohmeri and C. ciferrii, were also isolated in this study.conclusion Our study expands the current knowledge of the epidemiology of non-invasive and invasive candidiasis in Malaysia. The variability of the Candida species distribution from different anatomical sites highlights the significance of local epidemiology in disease management and selection of antifungal agents.

Distribution and Antifungal Susceptibility Pattern of Candida species at a Tertiary Hospital in Malaysia

“…A study on candidaemia cases from 2005 to 2006 at another tertiary hospital in Malaysia by Tzar and Shamim [7] also found C. tropicalis to be the most frequent non-albicans Candida, however C. albicans isolates were higher by 8%. Similarly, Ng and colleagues [8] also found C. tropicalis to be the most common Candida species isolated from blood next to C. albicans, among isolates from various specimens obtained between 2000 and 2013. C. tropicalis is indeed the leading non-albicans species in Asia and more so in tropical areas [20], when compared to other regions such as Europe, UK and USA [19].…”

“…are part of the normal flora of healthy hosts that are responsible for various superficial and systemic, opportunistic infections [3]. Although Candida albicans remains the major cause of invasive candidiasis, increasing trends in infections caused by non-albicans species have been observed in recent years worldwide [4][5][6] including Malaysia [7][8][9]. Next to candidiasis, other yeast infections are usually caused by Cryptococcus neoformans followed by the less common Trichosporon spp., Rhodotorula spp and others [3;6;10].…”

Interactions between Candida albicans and Candida glabrata in biofilms: Influence of the strain type, culture medium and glucose supplementation

“…Candida species are known to be opportunistic pathogens that may be found in the oral cavity, bloodstream, and gastrointestinal, genitourinary and respiratory tracts of the human body of healthy and immunocompromised individuals . These species are labelled as commensals when the individual's immune response and interactions of Candida with other microbial species allow their persistence (usually in low numbers) without causing harm to the host .…”

Combination of Phenotypic Tests as a Screening Approach for the Differentiation of Cryptic Species Candida albicans and Candida dubliniensis

“…However, in many cases, the interpretation of these tests also relies on subjective descriptions, such as changes in color tones on standard chromogenic media or growth on hypertonic media [19]. C. albicans is more prevalent than C. dubliniensis as commensal and infectious agents of humans [20], and, apparently, C. albicans shows greater virulence potential in animal models, while C. dubliniensis shows greater ability to develop resistance to antifungal agents [11]. Studies with strains from animals, developed by our group, have detected the emergence of azole resistance in Candida spp.…”