Prevalence of Candida nivariensis and Candida bracarensis in Vulvovaginal Candidiasis

Candida nivariensis and Candida bracarensis were isolated from patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC). Candida nivariensis and Candida bracarensis were found in presumptive Candida glabrata isolates, which were identified using the API Candida system. We retrospectively re-examined vaginal presumptive Candida glabrata isolates for Candida nivariensis and Candida bracarensis from January 1, 2003, through December 31, 2012, via detection of the ITS1 region and the 5.8S ribosomal RNA gene. Among 301 presumptive Candida glabrata isolates, 293 isolates were confirmed as C. glabrata (97.34 %), 7 isolates were identified as C. nivariensis (2.33 %) and 1 isolate was identified as C. bracarensis (0.33 %). The C. nivariensis and C. bracarensis isolates were confirmed by sequencing. All C. nivariensis isolates were susceptible to nystatin and susceptible or susceptible dose-dependent to fluconazole, itraconazole, miconazole, and clotrimazole. The C. bracarensis isolate was susceptible to nystatin and the tested azoles. Among the seven patients with VVC caused by C. nivariensis and who were treated with various antifungal agents, only one patient achieved mycological eradication at both the day 7–14 and day 30–35 follow-ups. The C. bracarensis isolate was isolated from a symptomatic pregnant woman; additional data for this patient were unavailable. We conclude that C. nivariensis and C. bracarensis existed in the vaginal samples of patients with VVC. Therapeutic efficacy in the patients with C. nivariensis was poor and inconsistent with the observed in vitro antifungal susceptibility, which requires further study.