Identification of Candida species in vaginal flora using conventional and molecular methods

Vaginal swab samples were collected both from women with signs of acute vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC; n=270) and from healthy controls (n=100). The microscopic examination revealed a significant difference in the proportion of positive cultures of Candida between the VVC (33%) and control (21%) groups. To determine the frequency of different species, positive cultures were analyzed using the germ tube test, CHROMagar medium, API 20 AUX System and DNA analysis. CHROMagar and API 20 AUX System tests identified 67% of samples as C. albicans. Out of these, 42% appeared to be C. dubliniensis when the specific primers in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used. We observed the prevalence of Candida species isolated from the vagina in descending order as follows: C. albicans (38-39%), C. glabrata (32-33%), C. dubliniensis (28-29%) and C. tropicalis (0-1%) for both the VVC and the control group.