Antifungal susceptibility and hemolytic activity of Candida albicans isolated from urine of dog and cat sharing common household

Candida albicans is an emerging multi-drug resistant fungal pathogen which causes urogenital infections in animals and humans. There is very limited data about the antifungal resistance and virulence activity of hemolysin from companion animals. The aim of the present study was to investigate the in vitro antifungal susceptibility and hemolytic activity of C. albicans isolates from urine of dog and cat which shared a common household. Standard mycological technique was used for isolating and identifying the yeast. Sequencing with Internal transcribed spacer of ribosomal RNA revealed more than 99% similarity between the isolates. Antifungal resistance was seen for Fluconazole, Amphotericin-B and Itraconazole for both the isolates. Both the isolates showed high susceptibility to Micafungin, Voriconazole, Anidulafungin and Caspofungin and presented moderate hemolysin activity. The pathogen being zoonotic can cause a significant public health concern, thus care should be taken in avoiding rampant and irrational use of antifungals.