Detection of Biofilms in Candida Species in a Resource Limited Setting

Abstract

The incidence of fungal infections has increased significantly. Of these, Candida species are major human fungal pathogens. Since biofilms have been considered as a virulence factor contributing to the Candida infection, a reliable method for their diagnosis is necessary. Biofilms have great significance in public health, because biofilms are associated with decreased susceptibility to antimicrobial agents. It is likely that biofilms evade anti-microbial challenges by multiple mechanisms. In this study, we screened 82 clinical isolates of Candida species by test tube method and crystal violet assay. Of these (16/82=19.5%) of the clinical Candida isolates showed biofilm production by test tube method. It was found that C. albicans had a little lower percentage of biofilm positivity (5/28 = 17.5%) as compared to non-albicans Candida species (11/54 = 20.37%). These data suggest that, biofilm formation as a potential virulence factor might have a higher significance for non-albicans Candida species than for C. albicans. Thus, more remains to be determined about biofilms formed by the non-albicans Candida species as they are now frequently encountered species in catheter associated candidiasis.