Biofilm Formation and Antifungal Resistance in Candida Species

1. To determine the susceptibility pattern of our local isolated Candida strains which is essential for optimal management of fungal infection. 2. Detection of biofilm formation by conventional and molecular methods 3. Comparison between C. albicans and non-albicans in the prevalence of biofilm formation and biofilm -forming genes 4. Find the association between antifungal resistance and biofilm formation in candida strains isolated from patients 5. Determination of clinical factors associated with occurrence of infections.

Candida spp are the fourth cause of nosocomial blood stream infections and had a 37% mortality rate within 30-day duration. Early diagnosis of Candida invasive infections reduces the mortality rate from 40% to 15% after therapy .There are several Candida species such as Candida albicans , Candida glabrata but C. albicans remains the most frequent species isolated there is an ongoing shift from C. albicans to non-albicans. Was reported by several countries. C. albicans, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis,C. krusei and C. glabrata are responsible for over 90% of cases of candidal infection .Several pathogenic virulence factors are encoded by C. albicans genes and assist the fungus to invade the host tissues leading to infections as the capacity of C. albicans to change from the budding yeast form to filamentous form .Many microbes, including yeasts, form biofilms as one of the major virulence factors. Candida infections often get therapeutic failure, mostly as a result of antifungal resistance that is caused by several mechanisms including biofilm production as biofilm- producing strains show significant increased resistance to antifungal drugs and host immunity. Candida auris is an emergent pathogen that was first described in Japan. C. auris can be challenging to identify in the laboratory using conventional. Importantly, C. auris isolates are resistant to fluconazole and frequently show multidrug resistance.C. auris has a high capacity for dissemination via contaminated surfaces or horizontal patient-to-patient transfer, which is unusual in other Candida species.