Prevalence and Antifungal Susceptibility Pattern of Candida Isolates from Women with Recurrent Vulvovaginal Candidiasis in Ghana - A Review of Laboratory Reports.

Abstract

Abstract Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a common infection among women of childbearing age, and few of these women experience recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC). The study was aimed at determining the virulent factors, and antifungal susceptibility of the Candida species isolated from women with RVVC attending the Nkawie Government Hospital, Ashanti-Region, Ghana. Over a 6–month period (October 2016 to March 2017), a total of 288 women with RVVC were evaluated. Isolation of the yeast was performed after the inoculation of the vaginal specimens onto Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA), and incubated for 24-48 hours at 37oC. The isolates were identified by standardized conventional methods. The enzymatic activities of esterase, phospholipase, haemolysis and biofilm production were evaluated for the identification of the yeast isolates. Susceptibility to antifungal agents was determined by using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Azole resistant isolates were further tested for ERG11 gene which encodes the enzyme (cytochrome P450 lanosterol 14-α-demethylase) by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis. Vaginal swabs cultures of 200 women (64.4) from 288 samples yielded Candida species. Candida albicans was the commonest isolated specie (33.0%), followed by Candida glabrata (29.5 %), Candida tropicalis (23.0%), and Candida krusei (15.5%). Hemolysin production, phospholipase enzyme activity, and biofilms formation were found in 84.5%, 83%, 77.5%.of the isolates respectively. Most phospholipase producing Candida isolates also formed biofilms. All Candida spp isolated were susceptible to itraconazole while majority of them were resistant to voriconazole. ERG11 genes were detected in 11.1% of Azole resistant Candida species. There is a significant increase in the rate of antifungal resistance among the Candida isolates to fluconazole and voriconazole. There is need for continuous surveillance as well as antifungal susceptibility testing on the Candida spp to guide therapy. A larger epidemiological study is also advocated to determining the degree of spread of ERG11 genes.