Candida Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Candida, including details on thrush infections, yeast, diet, treatment, symptoms.

Evaluation of Albicans ID2 and Biggy agar for the isolation and direct identification of vaginal yeast isolates.

Ilkit M, Hilmioglu S, Tasbakan M, Aydemir S

Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cukurova, Adana, Turkey. milkit@cu.edu.tr

In this study, 250 vaginal samples from patients with vulvovaginal candidosis were inoculated onto two chromogenic media, Albicans ID(2) and Biggy agar, as well as onto Sabouraud chloramphenicol agar, yielding a total of 63 yeast (25.2 %) on all three media. These strains were identified as Candida glabrata in 20 (31.8 %) samples, Candida albicans in 15 samples (23.8 %), Candida tropicalis in 10 samples (15.9 %), Candida krusei in five samples (7.9 %), Candida kefyr in five samples (7.9 %), Candida dubliniensis in four samples (6.3 %), Candida parapsilosis in two samples (3.2 %) and Candida guilliermondii in two samples (3.2 %). Mixed fungal cultures and bacterial growth or filamentous fungi were not detected on any of the selected media. The sensitivity and specificity of the Albicans ID(2) and Biggy agar with regard to the identification of C. albicans were 80.0 and 64.6 %, and 86.7 and 56.3 %, respectively. This study showed these two chromogenic media to be as effective as Sabouraud chloramphenicol agar with respect to fungal detection. However, neither Albicans ID(2) nor Biggy agar was sufficient for reliable differentiation of yeasts to the species level.

Published 18 May 2007 in J Med Microbiol, 56: 762-5.
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