title: Prevalence of Candida albicans-closely related yeasts, Candida africana and Candida dubliniensis, in vulvovaginal candidiasis.
abstract: Isolates of Candida africana and C. dubliniensis were recovered from patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC). The isolates were initially identified as C. albicans through use of the API Candida System. We retrospectively reexamined 1014 vaginal isolates presumptively determined to be C. albicans at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Peking University Shenzhen Hospital from 1 January 2003 through 31 December 2012. Our objective was to determine, via detection of the HWP1 gene, if any of the isolates were C. africana or C. dubliniensis. One and a half percent of these isolates (15/1014) were found to be C. africana, whereas C. dubliniensis was not detected. The 15 C. africana isolates were susceptible to nystatin, fluconazole, itraconazole, miconazole, and clotrimazole. Candida africana could not be recovered from clinical vaginal specimens from the 15 patients at follow-up on days 7-14 and days 30-35 when treated with different antifungal agents. We conclude that C. africana, but not C. dubliniensis, was present in the vaginal samples of patients with VVC. The C. africana isolates were susceptible to the tested antifungal agents. VVC caused by C. africana appears to respond well to current therapies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Yingying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China Shenzhen Key Laboratory Of Gynecological Diagnostic Technology Research, Shenzhen, 518036, China fanshangrong@21cn.com.
authors.forename: Shangrong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Science, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Jianling
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D002175:Candida / Q000145:classification* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002181:Candidiasis, Vulvovaginal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D005656:Fungal Proteins
keywords: Candida africana; Candida dubliniensis; vulvovaginal candidiasis