Browsing by Author "Lee, Ching-Fu"

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Comparison of Human and Soil Candida tropicalis Isolates with Reduced Susceptibility to Fluconazole
(2012-04-05)
Yang, Yun-Liang
;
Lin, Chih-Chao
;
Chang, Te-Pin
;
Lauderdale, Tsai-Ling
;
Chen, Hui-Ting
Infections caused by treatment-resistant non-albicans Candida species, such as C. tropicalis, has increased, which is an emerging challenge in the management of fungal infections. Genetically related diploid sequence type (DST) strains of C. tropicalis exhibiting reduced susceptibility to fluconazole circulated widely in Taiwan. To identify the potential source of these wildly distributed DST strains, we investigated the possibility of the presence in soil of such C. tropicalis strains by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and DST typing methods. A total of 56 C. tropicalis isolates were recovered from 26 out of 477 soil samples. Among the 18 isolates with reduced susceptibility to fluconazole, 9 belonged to DST149 and 3 belonged to DST140. Both DSTs have been recovered from our previous studies on clinical isolates from the Taiwan Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance of Yeasts (TSARY) program. Furthermore, these isolates were more resistant to agricultural azoles. We have found genetically related C. tropicalis exhibiting reduced susceptibility to fluconazole from the human hosts and environmental samples. Therefore, to prevent patients from acquiring C. tropicalis with reduced susceptibility to azoles, prudent use of azoles in both clinical and agricultural settings is advocated.
Fruits as the vehicle of drug resistant pathogenic yeasts
(2017-09-01)
Lo, Hsiu-Jung
;
Tsai, Sheng-Hua
;
Chu, Wen-Li
;
Chen, Yin-Zhi
;
Zhou, Zi-Li
Objective: We investigated the diversity and drug susceptibility of pathogenic yeasts on fruit surfaces. Method: Fruits were purchased from supermarkets and washed with buffer. The pellets were re-suspended in medium after centrifugation. The cell suspensions were plated onto CHROMagar Candida medium. Yeasts were identified by ribosomal DNA sequencing and their drug susceptibilities were determined by broth microdilution assay. Results: Of 184 isolates, comprised of 55 species, from 22 different types of fruits, 29 species, including Candida famata, Candida fermentati, Candida guilliermondii, Candida intermedia, Candida krusei, Candida orthopsilosis, Candida parapsilosis, Candida pelliculosa, Candida tropicalis, and others have been reported to cause diseases in humans. In addition to C. krusei, intrinsically resistant to fluconazole, all Rhodotorula and Rhodosporidium species were resistant to fluconazole. One each of C. tropicalis isolate was belonged to diploid sequence type (DST)149 and DST225, genotypes also detected in isolates from humans. Furthermore, the DST225 isolate was less susceptible to azole drugs. The susceptibilities to azole drugs for clinical and agricultural usage were associated to each other. Conclusion: It is important to be aware of the existence of pathogenic yeasts, especially drug-resistant ones, on the fruit surfaces, a potential route for pathogenic yeasts to be transmitted to humans. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The British Infection Association.