We conducted prospective, active population-based surveillance for candidemia (defined as any Candida species isolated from blood) in Atlanta and San Francisco (total population, 5.34 million) during 1992-1993. The average annual incidence of candidemia at both sites was 8 per 100,000 population. The highest incidence (75 per 100,000) occurred among infants </=1 year old. In 19% of patients, ca...

A previously reported enzyme assay on a membrane filter using 4-methylumbelliferyl (4-MU)-N-acetyl-beta-D-galactosaminide, -phosphate and -pyrophosphate as substrates for the differentiation of four Candida spp. has been extended to Candida parapsilosis. The substrate 4-MU-beta-D-glucoside was hydrolyzed by 28 test strains of this species but to a variable extent by seven other yeasts also. For...

Even though the number of Candida infections due to non-albicans species like C. parapsilosis has been increasing, little is known about their pathomechanisms. Certain aspects of C. parapsilosis and host interactions have already been investigated; however we lack information about the innate cellular responses toward this species. The aim of our project was to dissect and compare the phagocyto...

Two 18S rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes specific for Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis were used to detect and identify by fluorescent in situ hybridization these medically important Candida species in deep organs of mice after experimental systemic infection. The C. albicans-specific probe detected fungal cells in kidney, spleen, and brain sections of a mouse infected with C. albi...

Data on fungemia epidemiology and antifungal susceptibility of isolates from children are scarce, leading frequently to pediatric empirical treatment based on available adult data. The present study was designed to update the epidemiological, mycological, and in vitro susceptibility data on fungal isolates from children with fungemia in Spain. All fungemia episodes were identified prospectively...

Fungicidal effects of histatin-5 against 26 oral isolates belonging to 5 non-albicans Candida species were examined. Fifty microM of histatin-5 killed more than 95% of Candida tropicalis and Candida guilliermondii isolates and more than 90% of Candida parapsilosis and Candida krusei. However, Candida glabrata was less sensitive to the peptide (mean 62.9%). Our results, taken together, demonstra...

From June to July 1998, two episodes of Candida tropicalis fungemia occurred in the Aristotle University neonatal intensive care unit (ICU). To investigate this uncommon event, a prospective study of fungal colonization and infection was conducted. From December 1998 to December 1999, surveillance cultures of the oral cavities and perinea of the 593 of the 781 neonates admitted to the neonatal ...

Most cases of candidiasis have been attributed to C. albicans, but recently, non- Candida albicans Candida (NCAC) species have been identified as common pathogens. The ability of Candida species to form biofilms has important clinical repercussions due to their increased resistance to antifungal therapy and the ability of yeast cells within the biofilms to withstand host immune defenses. Given ...

Candida parapsilosis, currently divided into three distinct species, proliferates in glucose-rich solutions and has been associated with infections resulting from the use of medical devices made of plastic, an environment common in dialysis centres. The aims of this study were (i) to screen for Candida orthopsilosis and Candida metapsilosis (100 environmental isolates previously identified as C...