ABSTRACT
Identification of Candida cultured from various clinical specimens to the species level is increasingly necessary for clinical laboratories. Although sn PCR identifies the species within hours but its cost-effectiveness is to be considered. So there is always a need for media which help in the isolation and identification at the species level. The study aimed to evaluate the performance of different chromogenic media and to compare the effectiveness of the traditional phenotypic methods versus seminested polymer-ase chain reaction [sn PCR] for identification of Candida species. One hundred and twenty seven Candida strains isolated from various clinical specimens were identified by conventional methods, four different chromogenic media and sn PCR . HiCrome Candida Differential and CHROMagar Candida media showed comparably high sensitivities and specificities in the identification of C. albicans , C. tropicalis, C. glabrata and C. krusei. CHROMagar Candida had an extra advantage of identifying all C. parapsilosis isolates. CHROMagar-Pal's medium identified C. albicans, C. tropicalis and C. krusei with high sensitivities and specificities, but couldn't identify C. glabrata or C. parapsilosis. It was the only medium that identified C. dubliniensis with a sensitivity and specificity of 100%. Biggy agar showed the least sensitivities and specificities. The overall concordance of the snPCR compared to the conventional tests including CHROMAgar Candida in the identification of Candida species was 97.5 %. The use of CHROMAgar Candida medium is an easy and accurate method for presumptive identification of the most commonly encountered Candida spp. Key words: chromogenic media, sn PCR, Candida?
ABSTRACT
Background: Primary toxoplasma infection during pregnancy carries a risk of fetal damage. The most frequent challenge encountered is how to determine if a pregnant woman acquired the acute infection during gestation. We aimed to evaluate the validity of T gondii IgM in a single serum sample versus the detection of IgM seroconversion for the diagnosis of acute maternal toxoplasmosis. In addition to determining the incidence of acute toxoplasmosis among pregnant women and estimating the rate of intrauterine transmission in the Southwestern region of Saudi Arabia
Materials and Methods: For a total of 487 pregnant women, blood samples were taken at the first antenatal visit. A second sample was taken at labour for those who continued their follow up, in addition to cord blood samples. For maternal samples, anti T gondii antibodies [IgM and IgG] and for cord blood samples anti T gondii IgM and IgA were determined. Seropositive samples were confirmed by PCR
Results: The incidence rate of acute maternal toxoplasmosis during pregnancy was 2.9%. Anti T gondii IgM was found in 2.4 % of fetal cord blood, anti-T gondii IgA was not detected. Infants borne to mothers who developed acute toxoplasmosis during pregnancy, had significantly 31 times the risk to develop congenital toxoplasmosis
Conclusions: Diagnosis of acute maternal toxoplasmosis during pregnacy should rely on the detection of seroconversion. If a single positive serological sample is to rely on, PCR is mandatory for confirmation. The incidence rate of acute maternal and congenital toxoplasmosis is considerable in this region of Saudia Arabia. Infants borne to mothers who developed acute toxoplasmosis during pregnancy, had significantly higher risk to develop congenital toxoplasmosis?