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Candida blankii: The Difficult Capture of a Fungus With Pathogenic Potential

Summary

Candida blankii is a rare fungal pathogen that is increasingly being found in hospital patients’ bloodstreams and respiratory tracts. The organism is difficult to identify using standard laboratory tests, which can delay diagnosis and treatment. This case report describes two adult patients with C. blankii infections and highlights the challenges in identifying this emerging pathogen and its resistance to common antifungal medications.

Background

Candida blankii has recently emerged as a rare but clinically significant pathogen, with increasing reports of infections in neonates and adults. The organism was originally isolated from infected Canadian mink in 1968 and first associated with invasive human infection in a Norwegian candidemia survey in the 1990s.

Objective

To present two cases of C. blankii infection in adult patients and highlight the challenges in identifying this emerging fungal pathogen using conventional laboratory methods, emphasizing the need for improved diagnostic techniques and therapeutic awareness.

Results

Case 1 involved an 85-year-old male with candidemia where C. blankii was identified only after provincial reference laboratory sequencing showed 97.83% similarity to C. blankii. Case 2 involved a 60-year-old male with cirrhosis where C. blankii was isolated from bronchoalveolar lavage but considered colonization rather than infection. Both isolates demonstrated high MICs to azoles and lower MICs to echinocandins and polyenes.

Conclusion

C. blankii represents an emerging fungal pathogen with pathogenic potential that poses diagnostic challenges for conventional laboratory methods. Accurate and timely identification is crucial for appropriate therapeutic management, and further research into epidemiology, pathogenesis, and optimal treatment strategies is necessary.
  • Published in:Case Reports in Infectious Diseases,
  • Study Type:Case Report,
  • Source: PMID: 41178840, DOI: 10.1155/crdi/5543654
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