The third OPATHY annual meeting and summer school took place from 26th of August to 1st of September 2018 at the University of Valencia Science Park, in Paterna, Spain and was organised by the OPATHY project partner Biotechvana. With a focus on applied bioinformatics and post-genomics techniques for clinical omics, ESRs received intense theoretical and practical training in varous aspects of bioinformatic analyses, e.g. in using the GPRO software suite that was developed at Biotechvana. Lectures of the summer school furthermore comprised ethical aspects of the use of human and animal samples in clinical research as well as good practice in scientific publishing.

Candidemia caused by Candida albicans and Candida glabrata is constantly increasing, accompanied by a rising use of the few available antifungals. The widespread use of echinocandins and azoles for treatment of invasive candidemia has enhanced the development of antifungal-resistance resulting in an increasing health care problem. Hence, the rapid detection of resistant strains is required. This study aimed to evaluate the detection of C. albicans and C. glabrata strains resistant against caspofungin by MALDI Biotyper antibiotic susceptibility test- rapid assay (MBT ASTRA). This novel semi-quantitative technique facilitates the detection of caspofungin-resistant strains within 6 hours. MBT ASTRA results were compared to the data obtained by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines (CLSI). Clinical isolates of C. albicans (n= 58) and C. glabrata (n= 57) were analysed by MBT ASTRA and CLSI microdilution. CLSI antifungal susceptibility test against caspofungin classified C. albicans isolates into 36 susceptible and 22 resistant strains, and C. glabrataisolates into 5 susceptible, 33 resistant and 19 intermediate, respectively. For C. albicans, the comparison of MBT ASTRA and the CLSI method revealed an excellent categorical agreement of 100%. Sensitivity and specificity of 94% and 80% between MBT ASTRA and CLSI were detected for C. glabrata strains, based on categorical agreement, respectively. In conclusion, the results obtained by MBT ASTRA indicated that this is a very promising approach for the rapid detection of candida isolates resistant to caspofungin.

Candida auris, C. haemulonii, C. duobushaemulonii, and C. pseudohaemulonii are closely related and highly multidrug resistant yeast pathogens. The high cost and low accuracy of current diagnostics may underestimate their prevalence, especially in medical resource-limited regions. In this study, we used 172 C. auris stains and its relatives and 192 other fungal strains to establish and validate a novel multiplex end-point PCR. A prospective and a retrospective clinical screenings using this assay were further performed in China and Iran respectively. We identified the first isolate of C. pseudohaemulonii in China and the first isolate of C. haemulonii in Iran from 821 clinical isolates in total, without any false positive. Animal models of C. auris and C. haemulonii were established for validation. The overall positive rates of the assay for mice blood and tissue were 28.6 and 92.9%, respectively. Compared with previously developed assays, our assay is more available and affordable to the developing countries, and may contribute to a better understanding of the epidemiology of C. auris and its relatives in these regions.

ABSTRACT: Invasive candidiasis is among the most life-threatening infections in patients in intensive care units. Although Candida albicans is the leading cause of candidaemia, the incidence of Candida parapsilosis infections is also rising, particularly among the neonates. Due to differences in their biology, these species employ different antifungal resistance and virulence mechanisms and also ...