Interactions of oral strains of Candida albicans and lactobacilli.

The increased incidence of candida infections since the advent of antibiotic therapy is well known (Wolfson, 1949; Finland, 1951; Keefer, 1951; Woods et al., 1951; i'vIcVay and Sprunt, 1951; Editorial, J.A.M.A., 1951). We have found a rise also, over the past five years, in the incidence of Candida albicans in the mouths of healthy young adults. Using the same methods of sampling as in a previous study, (Young et al., 1951) and a comparable college-student group as subjects, we have seen the percentage of candidapositive individuals in the test population rise from 48.6 to 62.1, while the quantity of yeasts in the saliva increased even more drastically (table 1). Since about 86 per cent of these persons are also carriers of oral lactobacilli, the two organisms commonly coexist in the healthy mouth. The present study was undertaken to determine what effects they might exert on each other, and whether a change in their relationship might be involved in the increase in oral candidas.