Isolation and genotyping of vaginal non-albicans Candida spp. in women from two different ethnic groups in Lanzhou, China.

Objective: To investigate whether the vaginal flora of women from 2 different ethnic groups living in the same region of China harbored the same species of Candida in the same proportions.

Methods: The ethnicity of the women was determined by conventional cultural identification, and the Candida spp. harbored by the women were determined by conventional methods and DNA genotyping.

Results: Candida albicans accounted for 77.1% and 89.6%, respectively, of the Candida spp. isolated from the normal vaginal flora of Han Chinese and Tibetan women. This difference was statistically significant and may explain the differences in the rates of opportunistic infections in these 2 groups. Among the non-albicans Candida spp. isolated were C. glabrata and C. tropicalis.

Conclusion: Different species of Candida were differently distributed in the normal vaginal flora of ethnic Han Chinese and Tibetan women living in the same geographic region.