Virulence Factors and Antifungal Resistance Pattern of Candida Species Isolated from Patients with Type Two Diabetes

Diabetes provides an underlying basis for the inability of the body to control infection. Candida albi¬cans has been reported to colonize and cause severe infections in patients with diabetes. This study aimed to evaluate the presence of virulence and antifungal resistance among C. albicans isolates from subjects with type 2 diabetes. Two hundred forty-five and one hundred non-repeat samples were collected from diabetic and non-diabetic subjects, respectively. Cultural and molecular methods were used to confirm the identity of C. albicans isolated from the urine, saliva, and wound samples of the subjects. The presence of virulence factors among the isolated C. albicans and their susceptibility to antifungals were detected using standard microbiological methods. Of the 345 subjects screened in this study, 123 (35.65%) were male, and 222 (64.35%) were female. The prevalence of Candida species was highest among subjects within the 31- 59 years age group. Candida species were recovered from 149 and 49 diabetic and non-diabetic patients, respectively. Apart from C. albicans [n=112 (56.57%)], C. glabrata (n=46 [23.23%]), C. tropicalis [n=13 (6.57%)], and C. krusei [n=5 (2.53%)] also recovered from the subjects. In this study, non-albicans Can¬dida had a lower percentage of virulence factors than C. albicans. Most of the isolates were susceptible to fluconazole and nystatin. There was a correlation between diabetes and C. albicans infections. Candida albicans from diabetic patients were more resistant to the tested antifungals than those from non-diabetic subjects.