First report of amphotericin B resistant Candida haemulonii isolated from the ICU of a referral hospital in Indonesia

Rifdah Hanifah; Mardiastuti Wahid; Andi Yasmon

doi:10.18502/ijm.v16i2.15363

Rifdah Hanifah Department of Microbiology, Master’s Programme in Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
Mardiastuti Wahid Department of Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia-Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia
Andi Yasmon Department of Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia-Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijm.v16i2.15363

Keywords: Amphotericin B; Candida; Environment; Gene; Healthcare; Resistance

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Amphotericin B is a broad-spectrum antifungal agent commonly used to treat Candida haemulonii infection. C. haemulonii was isolated from patients reported to be intrinsically resistant to amphotericin B, en- coded by the ERG2 and ERG11 genes. However, there have been limited studies concerning amphotericin B-resistant C. haemulonii in Indonesia. The objective of this study is to explore the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics (ERG2 and ERG11) of C. haemulonii isolated from the ICU of a referral hospital in Indonesia.

Materials and Methods: Identification and susceptibility tests were conducted using VITEK2. Thereafter, DNA was ex-tracted and amplified using conventional PCR followed by DNA sequencing (Sanger method).

Results: The results of the phenotypic susceptibility test showed that all C. haemulonii were resistant to amphotericin B. ERG2 and ERG11 sequences showed the same amino acid sequence and corresponded to references that are resistant to amphotericin B.

Conclusion: The resistant properties of C. haemulonii against amphotericin B found in this study require further exploration, including comparing resistant and sensitive C. haemulonii to amphotericin B. In addition, it is necessary to analyze other genes besides ERG2 and ERG11.