title: Colonization by Candida species of the oral and vaginal mucosa in HIV-infected and noninfected women.
abstract: Candidiasis in HIV/AIDS patients continues to be a public health problem. Effective antifungal therapies are few in number and have inherent problems such as selecting for drug-resistant strains of Candida species. To evaluate the state of Candida colonization of the oral and vaginal mucosa, we recruited 80 women, both HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected, from the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS). Diet diaries were collected by participants to examine the role of diet on fungal growth. Baseline studies were initially done in participants that followed the colonization of both mucosal sites over 0-90 days. The most common Candida species from both groups of patients were C. albicans and C. glabrata. Among the HIV-infected cohort, the percentage of participants who were positive for Candida spp. was higher than in the HIV-uninfected control group. Furthermore, the frequency of colonization (1 episode versus >1 episode) was also increased in the HIV-infected cohort. These data indicate that Candida species remain an important component of the microbial community in both populations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20007, USA. djm23@georgetown.edu
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Merenstein
authors.forename: Haihong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Cuiwei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hamilton
authors.forename: Mandy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blackmon
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Calderone
authors.forename: Dongmei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D002176:Candida albicans; D041221:Candida glabrata; D002180:Candidiasis, Oral / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D002181:Candidiasis, Vulvovaginal / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects; D015930:Diet Records; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology