Study on incidence of Different Candida Species from various Clinical Samples in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital

Volume : VIII, Issue : V, May - 2018

Dr. N. Bharathi Santhose, Dr. C. Ashok Kumar, Dr. N. Mythily

Candida species are the most common cause of fungal infections worldwide.They are endogenous fungal pathogen which

cause secondary infection in individuals with underlying immunocompromised conditions and are the fourth leading

cause of Health care associated infections. An increase in the prevalence of non–albicans species has been noted during the last few decades

causing invasive candidiasis with higher mortality and morbidity. The aim of the study was to isolate and identify the various species of Candida

from clinical samples from patients of all age group and both sexes with suspected Candida infection and also to study the predisposing factors

for candidiasis. Total 100 isolates of Candida species were recovered from the clinical specimens over the period of one year. Candida was mainly

isolated from Urine (45%) and respiratory samples (24%). The most common species of Candida isolated was C. albicans forming 48% of the

total isolates. The non–albicans candida species form the remaining 52% of the total isolates, thus stressing their emergence as major

opportunistic fungal pathogens. Characterization to species level helps to identify species which might be intrinsically resistant to commonly

used antifungal agents.