<b>Incidence of <i>Candida Albicans</i> in Pregnent Women: A Case Study of Ekpoma, Nigeria</b>

Abstract

This study examines the incidence of Candida albicans among pregnant women of varied age range/occupation, within any of the three trimesters, and attending antenatal clinic in Ekpoma and its environs. A total of 100 high vagina swab- samples were collected from women and then transported to the Medical Laboratory at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Edo, Nigeria, for analysis. The samples were inoculated on CHROMagar Candida medium and incubated at 37⁰C for 48hours to isolate and presumptively identify the Candida species. The  results  revealed that 40% of the samples tested positive for Candida species (Candida albicans (75.0%), Candida krusei (2.5%), Candida novergensis (7.5%), Candida parapsilosis (5.0%), Candida dublinensis (2.5%) and mixed Candida species  (7.5%). The colonization of the vagina by Candida species was found to be statistically  significant  (P< 0.05)  in  the  third trimester (21%) when compared to the second (16%) and first (3%) trimesters. On the other hand, Candida species colonization was statistically insignificant (P> 0.05) when compared with the occupation of the women. These findings therefore, indicate that Candida albicans is more predominant in pregnant women than the other non-albicans species and tends to increase as gestation period progresses.

Keywords: Pregnancy, Candida species, Candida albican, Ekpoma.