Prevalence of non-albican candida infection in Maharashtrian women with leucorrhea

Background: Candida is the most common agent causing leucorrhea affecting the women of all strata. It is becoming difficult to completely eradicate the infection mainly due to recurrence caused by non-albican species of Candida. Most of the non-albican species of Candida are resistant to commonly used antifungal agent-azole. Therefore, studying the prevalence of Candida species in vaginal secretion is of great significance. Objective: To study the prevalence of different species of Candida and the efficiency of different Candida detection methods in women from low socio-economic setup of Miraj and Sangli, Maharashtra, India. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 150 patients with specific complaints of leucorrhea. In the control group, 50 asymptomatic women were included for comparison. Results: In 33% of the women the leucorrhea was due to Candida infection with highest incidence in women of sexually active age (20-40 years). Sabouraud′s culture was the most efficient method (100% efficiency) to detect the Candida compared to wet mount, KOH and gram stain method. Candida albicans was the most common strain identified and Candida krusei was the least common one. Conclusion: Candida infection is the commonest reason for leucorrhea and non-albican candida species significantly contribute to candidiasis in women of Miraj and Sangli.