The Use of Molecular Techniques for Epidemiologic Typing of Candida Species

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Nosocomial infections due to Candida species are an important cause of morbidity and mortality among hospitalized patients. The investigation and control of nosocomial candidiasis is a complex issue involving clinical, infection control, and laboratory personnel. The clinical microbiology laboratory clearly plays a key role in the diagnosis of these infections and may be called upon to assist in the epidemiologic investigation of clusters of nosocomial candidiasis. Application of conventional epidemiologic typing methods such as biotyping,1–3 morphotyping,4–6 and serotyping7 have occasionally been useful in identifying cross-infection and describing the epidemiology of candidiasis8–12; however, these typing methods are generally considered too variable, labor-intensive, and slow to be of practical value in epidemiologic investigations.3,6,12–14 Given the limitations of the conventional typing methods, it is not surprising that microbiologists, mycologists, and epidemiologists have looked to the newer techniques of modern molecular biology as additional, and perhaps more definitive, means of typing Candida albicans and other species of Candida. The purpose of this chapter is to (1) briefly review the increasing importance of Candida species as nosocomial pathogens, (2) provide some general guidelines for the application of epidemiologic typing systems, (3) describe the various molecular typing methods currently being applied to Candida species, and (4) summarize some of the epidemiologic information that has been gained from molecular epidemiologic typing of Candida species.