Multicenter prospective surveillance of oral Candida dubliniensis among adult Brazilian human immunodeficiency virus-positive and AIDS patients

The incidence of C dubliniensis in South America has not yet been determine d. In the present study, oral swab samples were taken from 108 HIV-infected /AIDS individuals attending 6 separate Brazilian HIV-treatment centers to d etermine the incidence of C dubliniensis in this population. Swabs were pla ted onto CHROMagar Candida medium and 155 isolates, presumptively identifie d as C. albicans or C. dubliniensis were further investigated. In a prelimi nary screen for C dubliniensis, 13 of the 155 isolates showed no or poor gr owth at 42 degreesC, and all them were subjected to randomly amplified poly morphic DNA (RAPD) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis using C. du bliniensis-specific primers. We confirmed that 4 out of 13 isolates were C. dubliniensis, representing an incidence rate of 2.8% for the Brazilian HIV -infected population infected with yeasts exhibiting green colonies on CHRO Magar Candida. This value is significantly lower than those reported in Ire land and the United States. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reser ved.