First recovery of Candida africana from the oral cavity of children with
leukaemia receiving chemotherapy in Basrah, Iraq
Abstract
Twenty-nine Candida isolates were assessed with green-coloured colonies
using CHROMagar Candida medium with a positive germ-tube test. Based on
morphological and biochemical tests, 29 strains were isolated from the
oral cavity of children with leukaemia who were undergoing chemotherapy
in Basrah, Iraq. Three (10.3%) of them were identified as Candida
africana. Identification of the isolated yeasts was further confirmed at
the molecular level by amplifying the internal transcribed spacer
sequencing (ITS) region of rDNA comprising the ITS1-5.85-ITS2 regions of
fungal rRNA genes. This study represented the first recovery of C.
africana from the oral cavity for immunocompromised patients with
leukaemia and considered the first record of species in Iraq.