Detection of Candida species resistant to azoles in the microbiota of rheas (Rhea americana): possible implications for human and animal health

Abstract

There is growing interest in breeding rheas (Rhea americana) in Brazil. However, there are no data on the yeast microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract of this avian species, and the phenotypic characteristics of these yeasts are not known. Therefore, the aim of this work was to isolate Candida species from the digestive tract of rheas and to evaluate the in vitro antifungal susceptibility and secretion of phospholipases of the recovered isolates. For this purpose, 58 rheas from breeding operations in the cities of Fortaleza and Mossoró , north-eastern Brazil, were used. Samples were gathered from the oropharynx and cloaca of the animals using sterile swabs. Stool samples were collected from their pens by scraping with a scalpel blade. For the primary isolation, the material was seeded onto 2 % Sabouraud dextrose agar supplemented with chloramphenicol (0.5 g l "1

Antifungal Susceptibility Testing of Ascomycetous Yeasts Isolated from Animals

“…The results found in this study are in clear contrast with those of previous reports that reveal alarmingly high rates of azole resistance among Candida strains of veterinary origin (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13). Notably, 47.8% of our isolates were collected between 2008 and 2014, when the first reports of substantial prevalence of azole resistance among yeast isolates obtained from animals were being published.…”

“…The results of some recent studies of yeast collections of animal origin suggest that azole resistance is also relatively common among isolates from diverse host species and that even healthy individuals can serve as a reservoir of resistant strains (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13). For example, Cordeiro et al (10) found resistance rates of Ͼ45% for fluconazole and itraconazole, and a 37.5% rate of cross-resistance to both compounds, in a Brazilian collection of 64 Candida tropicalis isolates obtained from several animal species.…”

“…For example, Cordeiro et al (10) found resistance rates of Ͼ45% for fluconazole and itraconazole, and a 37.5% rate of cross-resistance to both compounds, in a Brazilian collection of 64 Candida tropicalis isolates obtained from several animal species. Similarly, substantial resistance to fluconazole and itraconazole has been found among Candida isolates from healthy birds and manatees bred in captivity in Brazil (6,11,12) and from dolphins in a Japanese aquarium (13). Unfortunately, antifungal susceptibility data for animal yeast isolates from other geographic regions are still scarce.…”

Combination of Phenotypic Tests as a Screening Approach for the Differentiation of Cryptic Species Candida albicans and Candida dubliniensis

“…Studies with strains from animals, developed by our group, have detected the emergence of azole resistance in Candida spp. recovered from several animal species, especially C. albicans, demonstrating the importance of researches assessing this subject [12][13][14][15].…”

“…However, our group has recovered azole-resistant C. albicans from several animal species [12][13][14][15]. Therefore, this study aimed to reidentify these isolates, focusing on evaluating the accuracy of combined phenotypic tests for the differentiation of C. albicans and C. dubliniensis, using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based identification as gold standard.…”