Aspergillus
are ubiquitous mold species that infect immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients. The symptoms are diverse and range from allergic reactions, bronchopulmonary infection, and bronchitis, to invasive aspergillosis. The aim of this study was to characterize 70
Aspergillus
isolates recovered from clinical specimens of patients with various clinical conditions presented at Hamad general hospital in Doha, Qatar, by using molecular methods and to determine their
in vitro
antifungal susceptibility patterns using the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) M38-A2 reference method. Fourteen
Aspergillus
species were identified by sequencing β-tubulin and calmodulin genes, including 10 rare and cryptic species not commonly recovered from human clinical specimens.
Aspergillus welwitschiae
is reported in this study for the first time in patients with fungal rhinosinusitis (
n
= 6) and one patient with a lower respiratory infection. Moreover,
Aspergillus pseudonomius
is reported in a patient with fungal rhinosinusitis which is considered as the first report ever from clinical specimens. In addition,
Aspergillus sublatus
is reported for the first time in a patient with cystic fibrosis. In general, our
Aspergillus
strains exhibited low MIC values for most of the antifungal drugs tested. One strain of
Aspergillus fumigatus
showed high MECs for echinocandins and low MICs for the rest of the drugs tested. Another strain of
A. fumigatus
exhibited high MIC for itraconazole and categorized as non-wild type. These findings require further analysis of their molecular basis of resistance. In conclusion, reliable identification of
Aspergillus
species is achieved by using molecular sequencing, especially for the emerging rare and cryptic species. They are mostly indistinguishable by conventional methods and might exhibit variable antifungal susceptibility profiles. Moreover, investigation of the antifungal susceptibility patterns is necessary for improved antifungal therapy against aspergillosis.