The Prevalence of Hospital-Acquired Fungal Infections in Some Hospitals of Basrah Province

Aim: This study was aimed at the prevalence of Hospital-Acquired Fungal Infections in Some Hospitals in Basrah Province. Materials Methods: Two hundred thirteen clinical specimens were collected from patients after 48h admission in Al–Faehaa Educational Hospital, AL-Sader Educational Hospital, and Pediatric Specialist Educational Hospital from November 2020 to April 2021. Findings: The ages of patients ranged from 5 months to 80 years, 94 (44%) males and 119(56%) females. The highest prevalence of bacterial nosocomial infections was recorded in 5 months-10 years (27.5%), while the 21-30 years group showed a high prevalence of hospital-acquired fungal infections (22.02%). Furthermore, diabetic patients (43.7%) tended to be more susceptible to fungal infections. A fifty-nine yeast isolates were isolated from clinical specimens, all of which were identified morphologically, physiologically, and molecularly. The most fungal isolates were returned to the genus Candida that including Candida albicans (47.5%), C. glabrata (16.4%), C. tropicalis (11.48%), C. parapsilosis (9.84), C. krusei (4.91%), and C. dubliniensis (4.91%), C. lusitaniea (3.28%) in addition to 1.68% of Naganishia globose with significant difference (p≤0.05) among isolated species. Additionally, N. globose was firstly record as a nosocomial agent in Iraq. Conclusion: Fungi have an important role as etiological agents of hospital-acquired infections, so, need more attention from health institutions for laboratory diagnosis of fungal infections in addition to antifungal susceptibility tests that assist physicians to select the suitable treatment for each case.