Paper II
2013 September (Supplementary) (2010 Scheme) · 40 marks · 120 min

Question

Laboratory confirmation of candida albicans.

Q42 marksShort Notes

Answer

Laboratory confirmation of Candida albicans:

  • Direct microscopy — KOH mount or Gram stain of clinical specimen showing budding yeast cells, with or without pseudohyphae.
  • Culture — on Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA); cream-coloured, smooth, pasty colonies within 24–48 hours.
  • Germ tube test — the key rapid identification test; when incubated in serum at 37°C for 2–3 hours, C. albicans produces a characteristic germ tube (a thin filamentous outgrowth without constriction at its point of origin) — distinguishes it from most other Candida species, which are germ-tube negative (with the exception of the closely related C. dubliniensis).
  • Chlamydospore formation — on cornmeal-Tween 80 agar, C. albicans produces characteristic thick-walled terminal chlamydospores, a confirmatory identification feature.
  • CHROMagar Candida — a differential chromogenic medium on which C. albicans produces characteristic light green colonies, useful for rapid presumptive species differentiation, particularly in mixed cultures.
  • Biochemical/carbohydrate assimilation tests (e.g., sugar fermentation/assimilation panels) and automated identification systems for definitive species-level confirmation where needed.

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