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Candidemia by Candida parapsilosis in a neonatal intensive care unit: human and environmental reservoirs, virulence factors, and antifungal susceptibility

  • Bacterial and Fungal Pathogenesis - Research Paper
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Abstract

The Candida parapsilosis complex has emerged as one of the main causes of candidemia worldwide. This study aims to evaluate possible C. parapsilosis sensu stricto reservoirs in a NICU, the expression of virulence factors, and antifungal susceptibility, and to analyze their genetic and phenotypic similarity. The study included 17 isolates of C. parapsilosis: seven environmental, one from a newborn’s mother, and nine samples from six newborns. We used molecular and phenotypic tests to characterize the isolates and to trace possible routes of infection. The genetic similarity was determined by random amplified polymorphic DNA. The hemolytic and DNAse activity was determined using sheep’s blood and DNAse agar, biofilm production by XTT method, and the susceptibility to antifungals through microdilution methodology. Two environmental strains isolated in the same month had high similarity. The 17 isolates expressed at least one of the three virulence factors studied, and one environmental isolate was resistant to fluconazole. This study shows that environmental contamination can be an important reservoir of potentially pathogenic microorganisms, since isolates of C. parapsilosis sensu stricto collected from the hospital environment were able to express virulence factors. Therefore, we emphasized the importance of determining the transmission routes in NICU in order to detect pathogen sources and reservoirs, as well as to establish prevention measures, such as adequate disinfection of the environment.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for the Scientific Scholarship Initiation, Curso Técnico em Análises Clínicas (ESTES-UFU) for providing the necessary equipment to carry out all the tests, Professor Regina Helena Pires of the Franca University for assigning the ATCC strains of the C. parapsilosis complex required to carry out the molecular differentiation of these isolates through the RFLP, and finally, Rodrigo Augusto Machado de Moraes for help in translating and correcting the article into English.

Funding

This study received financial support from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) – Financing Code 001.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. HealthTechnical School, Federal University of Uberlandia, Av. Amazonas s/no - Block 4K – 111–Campus Umuarama, Umuarama, Uberlândia, MG, ZIP 38400-902, Brazil

    Ralciane de Paula Menezes, Mário Paulo Amante Penatti & Reginaldo dos Santos Pedroso

  2. Undergraduation in Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Uberlandia, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Sávia Gonçalves de Oliveira Melo

  3. Undergraduation in Biology - Institute of Biology, Federal University of Uberlandia, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Meliza Arantes Souza Bessa

  4. Health Sciences Postgraduate Program, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Uberlandia, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Felipe Flávio Silva, Priscila Guerino Vilela Alves, Vânia Olivetti Steffen Abdallah, Denise von Dollinger de Brito Röder & Reginaldo dos Santos Pedroso

  5. Mathematics College, Federal University of Uberlandia, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Lúcio Borges Araújo

  6. Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Uberlandia, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Denise von Dollinger de Brito Röder

Authors
  1. Ralciane de Paula Menezes
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  2. Sávia Gonçalves de Oliveira Melo
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  3. Meliza Arantes Souza Bessa
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  6. Lúcio Borges Araújo
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  8. Vânia Olivetti Steffen Abdallah
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  10. Reginaldo dos Santos Pedroso
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ralciane de Paula Menezes.

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The Committee of Ethics in Research approved the research with human participants at the Federal University of Uberlandia (Approval number 989.139/2015).

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Responsible Editor: Rosana Puccia.

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de Paula Menezes, R., de Oliveira Melo, S.G., Bessa, M.A.S. et al. Candidemia by Candida parapsilosis in a neonatal intensive care unit: human and environmental reservoirs, virulence factors, and antifungal susceptibility. Braz J Microbiol 51, 851–860 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-020-00232-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-020-00232-1

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