Genotypic diversity and antifungal susceptibility of Cryptococcus neoformans isolates from paediatric patients in China

AbstractCryptococcosis is a life ‐threatening mycosis primarily occurring in adult patients particularly those with immunosuppression such as HIV infection/AIDS. The number of reported cases of paediatric cryptococcosis has increased in the last decade around the world, including China. However, current information on the charact eristics of cryptococcosis in children, particularly the genotypic diversity and antifungal susceptibility of the isolates, is limited. In the present study, a total of 25 paediatric isolates ofCryptococcus neoformans were genotyped using the ISHAM ‐MLST scheme. In vitro susceptibility to antifungal agents of the 22 isolates was tested using the CLSI M27‐A3 method. Our analyses revealed that the genotypic diversity ofC.  neoformans isolates from Chinese paediatric patients was low, with ST 5 (80%) and ST 31 (12%) being the two major sequence types. Reduced susceptibility to fluconazole (FLU), 5 ‐flucytosine (5‐FC) and itraconazole (ITR) was observed amongC.  neoformans isolates from Chinese paediatric patients, particularly among the ST5 isolates, which was similar to observations made onC.  neoformans isolates from Chinese adult patients. In addition, the majority of isolates (3/4, 75%) obtained from deceased patients showed decreased antifungal susceptibility, which indicates that further monitoring of antifungal susceptibility ofCryptococcus isolates is warranted in management of paediatric cryptococcosis.
Source: Mycoses - Category: Research Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research