MULTIPLE STRAINS OF CANDIDA-ALBICANS IN THE ORAL CAVITY OF HIV-POSITIVE AND HIV-NEGATIVE PATIENTS

Over a period of several months a study of 14 HIV positive patients with oral infection due to Candida albicans revealed apparent changes in the strain carried by six patients (45 per cent) as determined by genomic analysis. In a second group of patients analysis of multiple isolates recovered from a single swab of the oral cavity revealed that one of ten HIV negative and four of ten HIV positive patients were carrying more than one strain. This may explain the apparent changes in type recorded in some individuals from the first group. Carriage of multiple strains of C. albicans may be more common in patients who are HIV positive. In addition, two major classes of pattern were seen designated X and Y; these were readily recognisable on RFLP profiles and especially after hybridisation with the 27A probe. The X type isolates behaved in all analyses as typical C, albicans isolates in contrast to the type Y isolates which gave atypical results. The pattern Y strains appeared to be more common in HIV positive patients.