Molecular detection of candida spp. isolated from immunocompromised patients in educational hospitals of Kerman

Introduction & Objectives:Candida species are the important opportunistic fungi. The mentioned yeasts are abundant that can cause a wide variety of human infections, known as candidiasis.The goal of this study, was to identify colonized Candida species in immunocompromised patients. The identification of Candida isolates are necessary to obtain epidemiological data and avoid therapeutic failure.Materials & Methods:In this cross sectional study, samples were collected from mouth of 43 immunocompromised patientsof educational hospitals (Including Afzalipour, Bahonar and Shafa hospitals) in Kerman, Iran.A total of 43 patients participated in this study, 258 yeast strains isolated from specimen oral swabs that identified by conventional methods contains sabouraud dextrose agar and CHROM agar candida medium, germ tube production and assessing the morphology on corn meal agar. Their identity was confirmed by the PCR-RFLP method.Result:Of these 258 yeast strains isolated, Candida albicans was the predominant species (n=159, 61.62%) followed by C. glabrata (n=74, 28.68%), C. parapsilosis (n=18, 6.97%), C. krusei (n=3, 1.16%), C. kefyr (n=2, 0.77%) and C. lusitaniae (n=2, 0.77%).Conclusion: The results showed that Immune deficiency is a favorable condition for growth of Candidaalbicans and non-albicans species. Oral candidiasis is mainly caused by Candida albican.However, non-albicans Candida species have been implicated in colonization of the oral cavity, eventually causing infection in 20–40% of immunocompromised individuals.

Keywords:

Candida spp , Immunocompromised , RFLP-PCR