First report of a catheter-related bloodstream infection by Candida haemulonii in a children's hospital in Mexico City.

BACKGROUND

Candida haemulonii is an emergent, multi-resistant opportunistic pathogenic yeast that like Candida auris, can be misidentified when conventional diagnostic methods are used. Timely molecular identification using DNA sequence analysis variation in the internal transcriber spacer region, ITS1-ITS4 and the 28S ribosomal DNA gene (28S rDNA), and in vitro antifungal susceptibility assessment can lead to rapid therapeutic success.

CASE REPORT: A case of Candida haemulonii candidiasis suffered by a male paediatric patient attended at Federico Gómez Children's Hospital of México City in September 2016 is reported. The isolate was yielded from peripheral blood and central catheter blood specimens. From in vitro antifungal susceptibility data, caspofungin was administered to the patient, who showed clear improvements at the end of antimicrobial administration, and the removal of the central venous catheter. Using a molecular phylogenetic approach, we identified the clinical isolate as C. haemulonii. The clinical isolate has been named as Candida haemulonii ENCB-87 from now on. C. haemulonii ENCB-87 grew well between the temperatures, 28 °C and 35 °C but not at 37 °C in YPD culture medium. The clinical isolate was susceptible to caspofungin, which resulted in therapeutic success for the patient.

CONCLUSIONS

C. haemulonii is an emergent, opportunistic pathogen, closely related to C. auris, therefore, the timely and accurate identification and antifungal susceptibility assessments are paramount in generating a robust epidemiology of this emerging Candida species.