Molecular Identification of Opportunistic Fungal Pathogens

Intensive care patients, with severe and life threatening illnesses and injuries,which require constant care, close monitoring and specialist support equipment and medications to ensure normal bodily functions, such as respiratory failure. Fungal infection has emerged as a significant health-care problem in recent years, owing to use of broad-spectrum antibiotics,long-term use of immunosuppressive agents, and increasing population of chronically ill patients with indwelling catheters.Often,these risk factors overlap among patients admitted in the ICU leading to an increased rate of opportunistic fungal infections. Identification and evaluation of fungal pathogens by real time PCR in comparison with conventional technique for detection of fungal pathogens in ICU patients suffering from respiratory diseases.Out of 97 samples collected from ICU patients with respiratory diseases,only 18(18.5%) samples were found be positive for fungal infections by real time PCR technique.Molecular method(real time PCR) for fungal pathogens detection is more specific and sensitive from conventional methods, but it cannot be used alone, unless coupled with DNA sequencing to determine fungal infection.