Species identification of Candida by Fungichrome-1 method

Abstract

Species identification of candida isolates was carried out by a commercial fungichrome-1 kit and compared with conventional methods. 50 candida isolates from sputum, urine, oropharyngeal swabs, blood, pus, CSF from patients admitted in Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Karnataka were tested by the conventional methods and by fungichrome-1, a commercial yeast identification system. Candida albicans is the most prevalent Candida species isolated from digestive tract but can be recovered from vagina or skin as well which accounted for 32% of total isolates. The next most frequent Candida species were Candida guillermondi and Candida tropicalis which accounts for 24% and 16% of the total isolates. The results obtained in the present study indicates an alternative method to identify yeast and yeast like fungi isolated from clinical specimens.