Candida infanticola and Candida spencermartinsiae yeasts: Possible emerging species in cancer patients

Item does not contain fulltextOpportunistic infections due to Candida species occur frequently in intensive care settings. We investigated the prevalence of Candida species among 65 clinical specimens obtained from 200 cancer patients by phenotypic and molecular (ITS sequencing and AFLP) methods. Among the 65 yeast isolates, Candida albicans was the most commonly isolated species (n=34, 52.3%), whereas other Candida species comprised 47.7% (n=31) and consisted of Candida glabrata (n=14, 21.5%), Candida tropicalis (n=5, 7.7%) and uncommon Candida species (n=12, 18.5%) such as Candida pelliculosa (n=3, 4.6%), Pichia kudriavzevii (= Candida krusei, n=2, 3.1%), Candida orthopsilosis (n=2, 3.1%), Candida parapsilosis (n=1, 1.5%), Candida infanticola (n=2, 3.1%), Candida spencermartinsiae (n=1, 1.5%), and Kluyveromyces marxianus (=Candida kefyr, n=1, 1.5%). Candida infanticola and Candida spencermartinsiae were recovered from oral lesions of cancer patients. Matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) easily confirmed these isolates as less common Candida isolates (4.6%). The in vitro antifungal susceptibilities of C. spencermartinsiae and the two strains of C. infanticola were determined according to CLSI guidelines (M27-A3). MIC results among these isolates showed they were susceptible to isavuconazole, posaconazole and voriconazole, however, fluconazole and caspofungin had high MIC values. These Candida species that may occur more commonly in infections remain unnoticed using commonly used phenotypical methods in routine microbiology laboratories. MALDI-TOF MS proved to be a more fast and robust diagnostic technique for identification of the yeasts isolated from different clinical specimens of cancer patients

First azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus isolates with the environmental TR46/Y121F/T289A mutation in Iran

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Clonal Expansion of Environmental Triazole Resistant Aspergillus fumigatus in Iran

Azole-resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus is a worldwide medical concern complicating the management of aspergillosis (IA). Herein, we report the clonal spread of environmental triazole resistant A. fumigatus isolates in Iran. In this study, 63 A. fumigatus isolates were collected from 300 compost samples plated on Sabouraud dextrose agar supplemented with itraconazole (ITR) and voriconazole (VOR). Forty-four isolates had the TR34/L98H mutation and three isolates a TR46/Y121F/T289A resistance mechanism, while two isolates harbored a M172V substitution in cyp51A. Fourteen azole resistant isolates had no mutations in cyp51A. We found that 41 out of 44 A. fumigatus strains with the TR34/L98H mutation, isolated from compost in 13 different Iranian cities, shared the same allele across all nine examined microsatellite loci. Clonal expansion of triazole resistant A. fumigatus in this study emphasizes the importance of establishing antifungal resistance surveillance studies to monitor clinical Aspergillus isolates in Iran, as well as screening for azole resistance in environmental A. fumigatus isolates

Comparative in vitro activities of seven antifungal drugs against clinical isolates of Candida parapsilosis complex

Objective: Candida parapsilosis species complex, an important set of non-albicans Candida species, is known to cause candidaemia particularly in neonates and infants. However, the incidence has increased in recent years, owing to higher numbers of at individuals at risk for these infections. Our objective was to evaluate the in vitro susceptibility of clinical isolates of C. parapsilosis complex isolates from Iran to seven antifungal drugs. Material and methods: One hundred-one clinical isolates of C. parapsilosis species complex cultured from humans were included. Species identification had been previously confirmed by combined phenotypic characteristics, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry-based assay and reconfirmed by DNA sequence analysis of the ITS rDNA region and D1/D2 gene. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for amphotericin B, fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, micafungin and anidulafungin were determined against well-characterized isolates by broth microdilution susceptibility testing according to the CLSI M27-A3 guideline. Results: Species identifications were performed on 101 isolates, of which 88 (87.2) C. parapsilosis sensu stricto and 13 (12.8) C. orthopsilosis. Amphotericin B and posaconazole were the most active drugs with 100 of isolates being wild-type (WT). Voriconazole and micafungin, 99 of isolates were WT. The low activity was recorded for fluconazole and itraconazole with 93.1 and 89.1 of isolates being WT, respectively. At the species level, all Candida parapsilosis sensu stricto isolates were WT to amphotericin B and posaconazole and all Candida orthopsilosis isolates were WT to amphotericin B, voriconazole, posaconazole, anidulafungin and micafungin. In contrast, the highest rate of non-WT was observed in C. orthopsilosis to itraconazole (4 of 13, 30.8). Conclusions: Although almost all of the tested drugs demonstrated potent activity against C. parapsilosis species complex, it seems that more especially C. orthopsilosis isolates had decreased susceptibility to itraconazole. Further studies are needed to determine how these findings may switch into in vivo efficacy. © 2020 Elsevier Masson SA