Investigation of minor species Candida africana, Candida stellatoidea and Candida dubliniensis in the Candida albicans complex among Yaoundé (Cameroon) HIV-infected patients

Mycoses. 2015 Jan;58(1):33-9. doi: 10.1111/myc.12266. Epub 2014 Oct 7.

Abstract

Minor species of the Candida albicans complex may cause overestimation of the epidemiology of C. albicans, and misidentifications could mask their implication in human pathology. Authors determined the occurrence of minor species of the C. albicans complex (C. africana, C. dubliniensis and C. stellatoidea) among Yaoundé HIV-infected patients, Cameroon. Stool, vaginal discharge, urine and oropharyngeal samples were analysed by mycological diagnosis. Isolates were identified by conventional methods and mass spectrometry (MS; carried out by the matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionisation time-of-flight MS protocol). Candida albicans isolates were thereafter submitted to the PCR amplification of the Hwp1 gene. The susceptibility of isolates to antifungal drugs was tested using the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute M27-A3 protocol. From 115 C. albicans obtained isolates, neither C. dubliniensis nor C. stellatoidea was observed; two strains of C. africana (422PV and 448PV) were identified by PCR electrophoretic profiles at 700 bp. These two C. africana strains were vaginal isolates. The isolate 448PV was resistant to ketoconazole at the minimal inhibitory concentration of 2 μg ml(-1), and showed reduced susceptibility to amphotericin B at 1 μg ml(-1). This first report on C. africana occurrence in Cameroon brings clues for the understanding of the global epidemiology of this yeast as well as that of minor species of the C. albicans complex.

Keywords: Cameroon; Candida africana; HIV infection; Hwp1 gene; antifungal; matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionisation time of flight.

MeSH terms

  • AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / diagnosis
  • AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / epidemiology
  • AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / microbiology*
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Amphotericin B / pharmacology
  • Antifungal Agents / pharmacology
  • Cameroon / epidemiology
  • Candida / classification
  • Candida / drug effects
  • Candida / isolation & purification*
  • Candida / physiology
  • Candida albicans / classification
  • Candida albicans / isolation & purification
  • Candidiasis / diagnosis*
  • Candidiasis / epidemiology
  • Candidiasis / microbiology*
  • Drug Resistance, Fungal
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
  • Urine / microbiology
  • Vagina / microbiology*
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Antifungal Agents
  • Amphotericin B