ABSTRACT
Candida spp. are important healthcare-associated pathogens. Identifying the source of infection is important for prevention and control strategies. The objective of this study was to evaluate candida colonisation sites as potential sources for candidaemia. Sixty-three consecutive patients with a positive blood culture for candida were included. Surveillance cultures were collected from urine, rectum, oropharynx, skin, intravascular catheter tip and skin around catheter. Molecular typing was performed when the same species of candida was isolated from blood and surveillance sites of a patient. C. albicans was associated with 42% of candidaemias, C. parapsilosis 33%, C. tropicalis 16% and C. guilliermondii, C. krusei, C. glabrata, C. holmii and C. metapsilosis were all 2% each. Six of 10 C. parapsilosis catheter tip isolates were indistinguishable from corresponding blood isolates (all in neonates). C. albicans isolates from blood were indistinguishable from corresponding gastrointestinal tract isolates in 13 of 26 patients and from catheter tip isolates in two patients. In conclusion, the results suggest that gastrointestinal colonisation is the probable source of C. albicans candidaemia and C. parapsilosis is exogenous.
Subject(s)
Candida/isolation & purification , Candidiasis/microbiology , Fungemia/etiology , Fungemia/microbiology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Candida/classification , Candida/genetics , Child , Child, Preschool , DNA Fingerprinting , DNA, Fungal/genetics , Female , Gastrointestinal Tract/microbiology , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Middle Aged , Mycological Typing Techniques , Young AdultABSTRACT
The number of HIV infected heterosexual has been steadily increasing in Brazil. This fact was followed by a decline on the ratio of male/female HIV infection every year. We have examined the seroprevalence of HIV infection among pregnant women attending an antenatal clinic in the Instituto Materno Infantil de Pernambuco (IMIP) at Recife, North-eastern Brazil. This study was performae as an anonymous sentinel surveillance. The collected blood samples were tested for HIV infection by two different types of ELISA, and if positive, further analysis by IIA was submitted. The subjects were arranged in four age groups with the respective proportion: group l (<15 years)-0.9 per cent, group II (15 to 20 years)-31.6 per cent, group III (21 to 34 years)-61.7 per cent and group IV (>35 years)- 5,8 per cent. It was found an HIV-1 seroprevalence of 0.1 per cent (95 per cent confidence interval, -0.l to + 0,3) This percentage represents one single HIV positive woman included in age group III. his low HIV infection seroprevalence is suitable with a low risk population (pregnant women) in a low prevalence area. However, we became concerned with the great propottion of pregnant woman under 21 years (32,5 per cent) and with the implications of how to reinforce effectively HIV preventions of how to reinforce effectively HIV prevention strategies to this population
