Genetic dissimilarity of two fluconazole-resistant Candida albicans strains causing meningitis and oral candidiasis in the same AIDS patient

Abstract

We describe a patient with AIDS who simultaneously developed Candida meningitis with three positive cerebrospinal fluid cultures and oral candidiasis. This patient also had a history or recurrent episodes of oral candidiasis treated with fluconazole. The patient did not respond to this therapy but was cured with amphotericin B and flucytosine. In vitro susceptibility tests revealed that each infection was caused by fluconazole-resistant Candida albicans isolates. Strain delineation by karyotyping, NotI restriction pattern analysis, hybridization with the specific probe 27A, and PCR fingerprinting with the phage M13 core sequence clearly demonstrated that meningitis and oral thrush were caused by two genetically different isolates.