European candidaemia is characterised by notable differential epidemiology and susceptibility pattern: Results from the ECMM Candida III study.

The objectives of this study were to assess Candida spp. distribution and antifungal resistance of candidaemia across Europe. Isolates were collected as part of the third ECMM Candida European multicentre observational study, conducted from 01 to 07-07-2018 to 31-03-2022. Each centre (maximum number/country determined by population size) included ∼10 consecutive cases. Isolates were referred to central laboratories and identified by morphology and MALDI-TOF, supplemented by ITS-sequencing when needed. EUCAST MICs were determined for five antifungals. fks sequencing was performed for echinocandin resistant isolates. The 399 isolates from 41 centres in 17 countries included C. albicans (47.1%), C. glabrata (22.3%), C. parapsilosis (15.0%), C. tropicalis (6.3%), C. dubliniensis and C. krusei (2.3% each) and other species (4.8%). Austria had the highest C. albicans proportion (77%), Czech Republic, France and UK the highest C. glabrata proportions (25-33%) while Italy and Turkey had the highest C. parapsilosis proportions (24-26%). All isolates were amphotericin B susceptible. Fluconazole resistance was found in 4% C. tropicalis, 12% C. glabrata (from six countries across Europe), 17% C. parapsilosis (from Greece, Italy, and Turkey) and 20% other Candida spp. Four isolates were anidulafungin and micafungin resistant/non-wild-type and five resistant to micafungin only. Three/3 and 2/5 of these were sequenced and harboured fks-alterations including a novel L657W in C. parapsilosis. The epidemiology varied among centres and countries. Acquired echinocandin resistance was rare but included differential susceptibility to anidulafungin and micafungin, and resistant C. parapsilosis. Fluconazole and voriconazole cross-resistance was common in C. glabrata and C. parapsilosis but with different geographical prevalence

Comparison of 12 liquid media for germ tube production of Candida albicans and C. tropicalis

PubMed ID: 17576320Infections caused by yeast of the genus Candida are the most common fungal infections, being Candida albicans the most common isolated species among them. The rapid identification of this yeast is mostly based on the production of germ tube in human or animal serum. This study describes the use of 12 different liquid media for germ tube production at 2, 2.5, 3 and 4 h. We examined 193 yeasts, including 157 (81.3%) C. albicans and 36 (18.7%) Candida tropicalis for the production of germ tube. The germ tube production of C. albicans was mostly observed in human serum (98%) followed by rabbit serum (89.8%), brain heart infusion broth (84%) and sheep serum (74.5%) at 2 h. An incubation time exceeding 2 h i.e. 2.5 h or later, C. tropicalis strains were observed to produce germ tubes. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) for germ tube production of human serum at 2 h were 98%, 100%, 100% and 92.3% respectively. In all tested sera, an incubation period of more than 2 h improves the sensitivity, but decreases the specificity as well as PPV and NPV of germ tube test (GTT). In conclusion, human serum was observed to be the most appropriate medium to be preferred for GTT, with an incubation period of 2 h. © 2007 The Authors

Evaluation of Albicans ID2 and Biggy agar for the isolation and direct identification of vaginal yeast isolates

PubMed ID: 17510260In this study, 250 vaginal samples from patients with vulvovaginal candidosis were inoculated onto two chromogenic media, Albicans ID2 and Biggy agar, as well as onto Sabouraud chloramphenicol agar, yielding a total of 63 yeast (25.2%) on all three media. These strains were identified as Candida glabrata in 20 (31.8%) samples, Candida albicans in 15 samples (23.8%), Candida tropicalis in 10 samples (15.9%), Candida krusei in five samples (7.9%), Candida kefyr in five samples (7.9%), Candida dubliniensis in four samples (6.3%), Candida parapsilosis in two samples (3.2%) and Candida guilliermondii in two samples (3.2%). Mixed fungal cultures and bacterial growth or filamentous fungi were not detected on any of the selected media. The sensitivity and specificity of the Albicans ID2 and Biggy agar with regard to the identification of C. albicans were 80.0 and 64.6%, and 86.7 and 56.3%, respectively. This study showed these two chromogenic media to be as effective as Sabouraud chloramphenicol agar with respect to fungal detection. However, neither Albicans ID2 nor Biggy agar was sufficient for reliable differentiation of yeasts to the species level. © 2007 SGM

Expression of P fimbriae of uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains

The occurrence of P fimbriae in a total of 222 uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) strains was investigated. Out of the total, 31 (14%) were P fimbriated. Of 24 pyelonephritogenic E. coli strains, three (13%) with P fimbriae occurred in children with clinical pyelonephritis, and of 198 E. coli strains 29 (15%) occurred in children with cystitis. Prevalence of P fimbriae of E. coli strains was found to be quite similar in patients with cystitis and pyelonephritis

Taurus Mountains alkalinity

Eucalyptus trees are widespread in subtropical parts of Turkey that have alkaline environments due to the soil structure of Taurus Mountains. In this study, the existence of Cryptococcus neoformans in eucalyptus trees in the South Aegean and Mediterranean Regions of Anatolia, Turkey, was screened between March 1998 and September 2002. Only one strain of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii (Serotype A) was isolated from 1175 eucalyptus samples including debris and flowers in culture by Guizotia abyssinica agar. The environmental niche of the isolate was Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehn in the Gokova Region, in the western part of the Taurus Mountains. In this study, the existence of Cryptococcus neoformans was shown in the eucalyptus flora of Turkey despite the alkaline soil condition.C1 Pamukkale Univ, Fac Med, Dept Microbiol, TR-20100 Denizli, Turkey.Cukurova Univ, Fac Med, Dept Microbiol, Adana, Turkey.Ege Univ, Fac Med, Dept Microbiol, Izmir, Turkey.Inst E Mediterranean Forestry Res, Mersin, Turkey.Suleyman Demirel Univ, Fac Med, Dept Microbiol, Isparta, Turkey