Summary: | Background: <em>Candida</em> species cause a wide spectrum of disease entities. <em>Candida africana</em> and <em>Candida dubliniensis</em>–members of <em>Candida</em> albicans complex-are currently gaining both clinical and epidemiologic significance. Materials and methods: Totally, 150 pediatric isolates that had previously been identified as <em>C. albicans</em> species complex based on a positive germ tube test were included. The isolates were cultured on CHROMagar <em>Candida</em> medium to ensure their purity and the results of germ tube test. For definitive speciation, PCR amplification and size polymorphism of the <em>hyphal wall protein 1 </em>(<em>HWP1</em>) gene was used. The results of <em>HWP1-PCR</em> were confirmed by sequencing the amplified fragments for randomly selected isolates of <em>C. africana</em> and <em>C. dubliniensis</em>. Results: All 150 isolates included in this study were reconfirmed as <em>C. albicans</em> complex on chromogenic media. Based on the <em>HWP1</em> gene size polymorphism, 141 (94%) isolates were identified as <em>C. albicans</em>, 2 (1.33%) as <em>C. africana</em>, and 1 (0.67%) as <em>C. dubliniensis</em>. The remaining 6 (4%) C. albicans complex isolates were a mix of <em>C. albicans</em> and <em>C. africana</em>. All isolates of <em>C. africana</em> and <em>C. dubliniensis</em> have been recovered from cases of candiduria. Conclusion: <em>C. africana</em>, either alone or mixed with <em>C. albicans</em>, could be a cause of candiduria among pediatric patients and should not be ignored.
|