Genetic Differences between Avian and Human Isolates

When Candida dubliniensis isolates obtained from seabird excrement and from humans in Ireland were com-pared by using multilocus sequence typing, 13 of 14 avian isolates were genetically distinct from human isolates. The remaining avian isolate was indistinguishable from a human isolate, suggesting that transmission may occur between humans and birds. Candida dubliniensis is an opportunistic yeast species phenotypically and genetically closely related to C. albicans, the most common cause of Candida infection. However, C. dubliniensis is less pathogenic and is most commonly associated with superficial infection in immuno-compromised persons. Although C. albicans has frequently been isolated from avian and animal sources (1–4), the re-cent study by Nunn et al. identified C. dubliniensis from a nonhuman source (5). These isolates were obtained fro