[Oral Candida in Mexican children with malnutrition, social marginalization, or HIV/AIDS].

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Determine the frequency of candida in the oral cavity of children with a risk of developing opportunistic infections, and establish if there is an association between the frequency of this oral colonization and three categories of at-risk populations.

METHODS:

Four infant population groups in Mexico were studied: an HIV/AIDS group undergoing highly active antiretroviral therapy (35 girls and 25 boys); a malnourished group (26 girls and 29 boys); a group from the Tarahumara indigenous people, one of the poorest ethnic populations in the country (37 girls and 20 boys); and a control group (8 girls and 21 boys in apparently good health). The children with HIV/AIDS were immunologically and virologically classified according to the EC Clearinghouse criteria, while malnutrition was determined through the World Health Organization's weight/height index. A sample of oral mucosa was taken with a sterile swab, which was incubated in Sabouraud dextrose agar and in Candida CHROMagar®. The species of candida were confirmed through the API ID32C test.

RESULTS:

The HIV/AIDS and malnutrition groups showed the higher frequency of Candida spps (51.7% and 38.2%, respectively), while the frequency level in the Tarahumara group was similar to that of the control group (17.5% versus 10.3%). With regard to the species of candida, the malnutrition group had the greatest diversity: C. albicans, C. tropical, C. krusei, and C. glabrata.

CONCLUSIONS:

The children with HIV/AIDS and malnutrition require strategies designed to reduce oral candidal colonization and reduce the risk of opportunistic infections.

• Authors: Luis Alberto Gaitán-Cepeda, Luis Octavio Sánchez-Vargas, Noris Pavia-Ruz, Rocío Muñoz-Hernández, Julio Villegas-Ham, Alejandro Caballos-Salobreña
• Journal: Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health (Rev Panam Salud Publica) Vol. 31 Issue 1 Pg. 48-53 (Jan 2012) ISSN: 1680-5348 [Electronic] United States
• Vernacular Title: Candida bucal en niños mexicanos con VIH/sida, desnutrición o marginación social.
• PMID: 22427164 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Topics

• Adolescent
• Candida (isolation & purification)
• Candidiasis, Oral (epidemiology)
• Carrier State (epidemiology)
• Child
• Child, Preschool
• Comorbidity
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Female
• HIV Infections (epidemiology)
• Humans
• Immunocompromised Host
• Indians, North American (statistics & numerical data)
• Male
• Malnutrition (epidemiology)
• Mexico
• Mouth Mucosa (microbiology)
• Opportunistic Infections (epidemiology)
• Vulnerable Populations (statistics & numerical data)