Drug susceptibility of Candida albicans and non-albicans Candida species isolated from ornamental birds
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The prevalence of Candida infections, especially by non-albicans Candida species, has led to excessive use of antifungal drugs, resulting in the transfer of resistance and increased minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) among Candida isolates. This study aimed to investigate the susceptibility of clinical Candida isolates of ornamental birds to three antifungal drugs: amphotericin B, caspofungin, and itraconazole.
Materials and Methods: Totally 126 samples were analyzed, from which 116 distinct colonies were cultured. Of these, 26 were identified as Candida spp., comprising 12 C. albicans (46.1%), 8 C. tropicalis (30%), 1 C. glabrata (3%), 1 C. krusei (3%), and 4 isolates (15%) of other Candida species. The present study aimed to determine the susceptibility and resistance levels of these Candida isolates to three antifungal drugs: amphotericin B, caspofungin, and itraconazole.
Results: According to the CLSI M44 recommended method, by the disk diffusion method, itraconazole (100%) and amphotericin B (86.46%) showed the best susceptibility pattern, compared to caspofungin (0%).
Conclusion: Given that the isolates showed the highest in vitro susceptibility to itraconazole and amphotericin B and the lowest to caspofungin, these findings suggest that itraconazole and amphotericin B could be considered potential first-line agents for treating avian candidiasis.
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11. Perlin DS. Echinocandin resistance in Candida. Clin Infect Dis 2015; 61(Suppl_6): S612-S617.
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15. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). Method for antifungal disk diffusion susceptibility testing of yeasts: approved guideline. CLSI document M44-A2. Wayne, PA: CLSI; 2009.
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19. Lass-Flörl C, Perkhofer S, Mayr A. In vitro susceptibility testing in fungi: a global perspective on a variety of methods. Mycoses 2010; 53: 1-11.
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22. Sidrim JJC, Maia DCBdSC, Brilhante RSN, Soares GDP, Cordeiro RA, Monteiro AJ, et al. Candida species isolated from the gastrointestinal tract of cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus): in vitro antifungal susceptibility profile and phospholipase activity. Vet Microbiol 2010; 145: 324-328.
23. Cafarchia C, Romito D, Iatta R, Camarda A, Montagna MT, Otranto D. Role of birds of prey as carriers and spreaders of Cryptococcus neoformans and other zoonotic yeasts. Med Mycol 2006; 44: 485-492.
24. Glushakova A, Kachalkin A. Wild and partially synanthropic bird yeast diversity, in vitro virulence, and antifungal susceptibility of Candida parapsilosis and Candida tropicalis strains isolated from feces. Int Microbiol 2024; 27: 883-897.
25. Hassan Y, Chew SY, Than LTL. Candida glabrata: pathogenicity and resistance mechanisms for adaptation and survival. J Fungi (Basel) 2021; 7: 667.
26. Carrillo-Munoz A, Quindos G, Del Valle O, Santos P, Giusiano G, Ezkurra P, et al. Activity of caspofungin and voriconazole against clinical isolates of Candida and other medically important yeasts by the CLSI M44-A disk diffusion method with Neo-Sensitabs tablets. Chemotherapy 2007; 54: 38-42.
27. Pfaller M, Boyken L, Hollis R, Messer S, Tendolkar S, Diekema D. In vitro susceptibilities of Candida spp. to caspofungin: four years of global surveillance. J Clin Microbiol 2006; 44: 760-763.
2. Swayne DE, Boulianne M, Logue CM, McDougald LR, Nair V, Suarez DL, et al (2020). Diseases of Poultry. 14th ed. John Wiley & Sons. Hoboken, NJ.
3. Perić M, Miličić B, Kuzmanović Pfićer J, Živković R, Arsić Arsenijević V. A systematic review of denture stomatitis: predisposing factors, clinical features, etiology, and global Candida spp. distribution. J Fungi (Basel) 2024; 10: 328.
4. Macias-Paz IU, Pérez-Hernández S, Tavera-Tapia A, Luna-Arias JP, Guerra-Cárdenas JE, Reyna-Beltrán E. Candida albicans, the main opportunistic pathogenic fungus in humans. Rev Argent Microbiol 2023; 55: 189-198.
5. Anandani G, Bhise M, Agarwal A. Invasive fungal infections and the management in immunocompromised conditions. J Family Med Prim Care 2025; 14: 2643-2652.
6. Gómez-Gaviria M, Ramírez-Sotelo U, Mora-Montes HM. Non-albicans Candida species: immune response, evasion mechanisms, and new plant-derived alternative therapies. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 9: 11.
7. Gray KC, Palacios DS, Dailey I, Endo MM, Uno BE, Wilcock BC, et al. Amphotericin primarily kills yeast by binding ergosterol. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2012; 109: 2234-2239.
8. Sheehan DJ, Hitchcock CA, Sibley CM. Current and emerging azole antifungal agents. Clin Microbiol Rev 1999; 12: 40-79.
9. Osset-Trénor P, Pascual-Ahuir A, Proft M. Fungal drug response and antimicrobial resistance. J Fungi (Basel) 2023; 9: 565.
10. Lupetti A, Danesi R, Campa M, Del Tacca M, Kelly S. Molecular basis of resistance to azole antifungals. Trends Mol Med 2002; 8: 76-81.
11. Perlin DS. Echinocandin resistance in Candida. Clin Infect Dis 2015; 61(Suppl_6): S612-S617.
12. Kiraz N, Dag I, Oz Y, Yamac M, Kiremitci A, Kasifoglu N. Correlation between broth microdilution and disk diffusion methods for antifungal susceptibility testing of caspofungin, voriconazole, amphotericin B, itraconazole and fluconazole against Candida glabrata. J Microbiol Methods 2010; 82: 136-140.
13. Elad D, Segal E. Diagnostic aspects of veterinary and human aspergillosis. Front Microbiol 2018; 9: 1303.
14. Mirhosseini Z, Khosravi A. Fungal pathogens: emerging threats to birds and human health, assessment of the relative frequency of pathogenic fungi in ornamental bird feces. J Poult Sci Avian Dis 2023; 1: 20-24.
15. Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). Method for antifungal disk diffusion susceptibility testing of yeasts: approved guideline. CLSI document M44-A2. Wayne, PA: CLSI; 2009.
16. Araiza-Santibáñez J, Basurto-Kuba E, Bonifaz-Trujillo A. Candida glabrata: an emergent opportunist in vulvovaginitis. Cir Cir 2009; 77: 423-427.
17. Whibley N, Gaffen SL. Beyond Candida albicans: mechanisms of immunity to non-albicans Candida species. Cytokine 2015; 76: 42-52.
18. Kumar S, Kumar A, Roudbary M, Mohammadi R, Černáková L, Rodrigues CF. Overview on the infections related to rare Candida species. Pathogens 2022; 11: 963.
19. Lass-Flörl C, Perkhofer S, Mayr A. In vitro susceptibility testing in fungi: a global perspective on a variety of methods. Mycoses 2010; 53: 1-11.
20. Berkow EL, Lockhart SR, Ostrosky-Zeichner L. Antifungal susceptibility testing: current approaches. Clin Microbiol Rev 2020; 33: e00069-19.
21. Zuza-Alves DL, Silva-Rocha WP, Chaves GM. An update on Candida tropicalis based on basic and clinical approaches. Front Microbiol 2017; 8: 1927.
22. Sidrim JJC, Maia DCBdSC, Brilhante RSN, Soares GDP, Cordeiro RA, Monteiro AJ, et al. Candida species isolated from the gastrointestinal tract of cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus): in vitro antifungal susceptibility profile and phospholipase activity. Vet Microbiol 2010; 145: 324-328.
23. Cafarchia C, Romito D, Iatta R, Camarda A, Montagna MT, Otranto D. Role of birds of prey as carriers and spreaders of Cryptococcus neoformans and other zoonotic yeasts. Med Mycol 2006; 44: 485-492.
24. Glushakova A, Kachalkin A. Wild and partially synanthropic bird yeast diversity, in vitro virulence, and antifungal susceptibility of Candida parapsilosis and Candida tropicalis strains isolated from feces. Int Microbiol 2024; 27: 883-897.
25. Hassan Y, Chew SY, Than LTL. Candida glabrata: pathogenicity and resistance mechanisms for adaptation and survival. J Fungi (Basel) 2021; 7: 667.
26. Carrillo-Munoz A, Quindos G, Del Valle O, Santos P, Giusiano G, Ezkurra P, et al. Activity of caspofungin and voriconazole against clinical isolates of Candida and other medically important yeasts by the CLSI M44-A disk diffusion method with Neo-Sensitabs tablets. Chemotherapy 2007; 54: 38-42.
27. Pfaller M, Boyken L, Hollis R, Messer S, Tendolkar S, Diekema D. In vitro susceptibilities of Candida spp. to caspofungin: four years of global surveillance. J Clin Microbiol 2006; 44: 760-763.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 18 No 1 (2026) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/ijm.v18i1.20941 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Candida albicans Drug resistance Fungal Antimicrobial susceptibility tests Antifungal agents Birds | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Mirhosseini Z, Razmyar J, Khosravi A. Drug susceptibility of Candida albicans and non-albicans Candida species isolated from ornamental birds. Iran J Microbiol. 2026;18(1):157-164.
