Drug susceptibility of 64 strains of Rhodotorula sp.

Rhodotorula sp. have emerged as opportunistic pathogens, particularly in immunocompromised patients. Knowledge about the susceptibility of Rhodotorula strains to the common antifungal drugs is essential for the treatment of such new infections. The 68 isolates identified as: Rhodotorula mucilaginosa (47 strains; 69%), R. minuta (14; 21%) and R. glutinis (7; 10%) obtained from various sources (feces, skin and nails, vagina and hospital environment) were tested for susceptibility to 5-fluorocytosine (5FC), amphotericin B (AMB), fluconazole (FLC) and itraconazole (ITR). All of the isolates had low MICs for AMB and 5FC. For ITR, the R. minuta isolates had the lowest MICs within a range 0.125-0.25 mg/l and for FLC all isolates affected within the range 2-64 mg/l. The majority of R. mucilaginosa isolates (82.2%) had MICs in the range 64-128 mg/l for FLC and 95.6% of isolates had MICs above or equal to 2 mg/1 for ITR.