RAPID IDENTIFICATION AND SPECIATION OF CANDIDA ISOLATED FROM VARIOUS CLINICAL SAMPLES USING HICROME CANDIDA DIFFERENTIAL AGAR AND THEIR ANTIFUNGAL SUSCEPTIBILITY PATTERN IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Fungi are world-wide distribution but only few of them are considered as pathogenic1.The incidence of fungal infections has increased dramatically in the past 20 years partly b e c a u s e o f i n c r e a s e i n t h e n u m b e r o f immunocompromised persons due to ageing, AIDS, Diabetes mellitus, organ transplantation and cancer therapy1 etc. Candidiasis is an important opportunistic fungal infection most commonly caused by Candida albicans2 and occasionally caused by nonalbicans species of Candida2,3.The species identification of Candida is very important nowadays as the increased incidence of nonalbicans species of Candida is coming up. The approach of fungal idenitification in developing countries mainly depend upon the morphological features and culture whereas in developed countries, the approach is based on molecular diagnostic methods1. The species identification of Candida is usually carried out by conventional methods which are all more time taken procedures. So for rapid identification and speciation of candida3, Hicrome Candida Differential Agar was used. From the period of July 2013-November 2013,Candida was isolated in 72samples out of 110 samples (oral thrush, high vaginal swab, urine, pus, sputum and otomycosis). Antifungal Susceptibility Testing was done by Disc Diffusion Method using Glucose-Methylene Blue-Mueller Hinton Agar(GMB-MH agar-2 glucose and 0.5gm per ml in Mueller Hinton Agar)1,4. The predominant species isolated was Candida albicans2 followed by Candida tropicalis, Candida glabrata, Candida krusei and Candida dubliniensis. Among the 72 isolates of Candida,18 (27.7) were resistant to Fluconazole with the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration(MIC)of more than 64mcgml.