In spite of evidence that domestic and wild birds may act as carriers of human pathogenic fungi, data on the role of laying hens as reservoirs of drug resistant and virulent yeasts is lacking. Here, we assess several virulence factors (phospholipase and haemolysin activity) and the antifungal susceptibility profiles of 84 Candida albicans and 17 Candida catenulata strains isolated from cloacae (group A), faeces (group B) and eggs (group C) of laying hens. Of these strains, 95% C. albicans and 23% C. catenulata strains displayed phospholipase and haemolytic activities. For C. albicans, the highest values of phospholipase (Pz = 0.62) and haemolytic activities (Hz = 0.49) were recorded among the strains from group C whilst for C. catenulata (Pz = 0.54; Hz = 0.49) among those from group A. High minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for azoles and amphotericin B (AmB) were recorded irrespective of their sources in all C. albicans strains. A total of 22 C. albicans strains were multidrug resistant, displaying resistance to fluconazole, itraconazole (ITZ), voriconazole (VOR) and posaconazole (POS). All C. catenulata strains from group C were resistant to ITZ, POS, micafungin and anidulafungin and susceptible to AmB. In this study, C. albicans and C. catenulata isolated from the cloacae, faeces and eggs of laying hens produced phospholipase and haemolysin and might be multidrug resistant. In the environment (faeces) or in eggs, C. albicans and C. catenulata strains might acquire pathogenic virulence traits and/or show multidrug resistance profiles. Based on these results, breeding and handling of laying hens and/or eggs may have implications for human and animal health.

尽管有证据表明家禽和野生鸟类可能是人类致病真菌的携带者，但关于蛋鸡作为耐药性和剧毒酵母菌储存库的作用的数据仍然缺乏。在这里，我们评估了从蛋鸡泄殖腔（A 组）、粪便（B 组）和鸡蛋（C 组）中分离出的 84 种白色念珠菌和 17 种链状念珠菌菌株的几种毒力因子（磷脂酶和溶血素活性）和抗真菌敏感性。在这些菌株中，95% 的白色念珠菌和 23% 的链状念珠菌菌株表现出磷脂酶和溶血活性。对于白色念珠菌，C 组菌株中记录到最高的磷脂酶值（Pz = 0.62）和溶血活性（Hz = 0.49），而链状念珠菌（ Pz = 0.54；Hz = 0.49）则在 A 组菌株中记录到最高值。在所有白色念珠菌菌株中，无论其来源如何，唑类和两性霉素 B (AmB) 均记录到较高的最低抑制浓度 (MIC) 值。共有22个白色念珠菌菌株具有多重耐药性，对氟康唑、伊曲康唑(ITZ)、伏立康唑(VOR)和泊沙康唑(POS)表现出耐药性。C 组的所有链状梭菌菌株均对 ITZ、POS、米卡芬净和阿尼芬净具有抗性，并且对 AmB 敏感。在这项研究中，从产蛋鸡的泄殖腔、粪便和鸡蛋中分离出的白色念珠菌和链状念珠菌产生磷脂酶和溶血素，并且可能具有多重耐药性。在环境（粪便）或鸡蛋中，白色念珠菌和链状念珠菌菌株可能获得致病毒力特征和/或表现出多药耐药性。根据这些结果，蛋鸡和/或鸡蛋的饲养和处理可能对人类和动物健康产生影响。