Candida dubliniensis: first identification in Sfax Hospital, Tunisia

Candida dubliniensis, a newly described fungal pathogen associated mainly to immunocompromised host's infection, is phenotypically closely related to C. albicans. In this study, we report for the first time, isolation and identification, in Tunisia, of 14 isolates of C. dubliniensis from 12 human immunodeficiency virus-negative patients hospitalised in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Habib Bourguiba Sfax Hospital. Our study was firstly based on the failure to grow at 45 degrees C. This presumptive identification was completed by other tests: chlamydospore production, culture on Candiselect4 (Bio-Rad) and the commercial test Bichro-Dubli fumouze, which specifically identify C. dubliniensis. The confirmation of the discrimination between both species was performed by PCR, targeting the hyphal wall protein (HWP1) gene. The recovery of C. dublinensis by routine laboratory diagnosis is recommended for elucidating the epidemiology of this novel pathogen.