Effect of Some Factors on Vaginal Infection in Postmenopausal Women from Al Rifi City

Background: As commensals, opportunistic infections called Candida spp. invade healthy people's skin and mucosal surfaces. Species belonging to the genus Candida inhabit their natural hosts, which include humans. Moreover, diabetes patients have been found to have higher levels of Recurrent Vulvovaginal Candidiasis formation and vaginal colonization by Candida than non-diabetics. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the occurrence of Candida spp. and vulvovaginitis in postmenopausal women, as well as to assess the impact of various factors, including type of culture medium, chronic diseases, previous infections, and the use of corticosteroid medications. Methods: A 100 vaginal swabs were taken from postmenopausal patients aged 45 to 69 had vulvovaginitis. Every sample was grown on a combination of Malt extract agar, and Sabouroud dextrose agar. The types of recovered yeasts were determined by a number of methods, including growth on chromogenic agar medium, biochemical assays such the KB006 Hi Candida TM Identification Kit, and germ tube testing to isolate candida. Results: The results showed that a six species of Candida were isolated on Chromogenic: C. glabrata, C.krusei, C. albicans, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, and C. rugosa, and also from 100 individuals underwent fungal diagnosis, only 25 of them were found to have Candida infections. Approximately 15 individuals (60% of 25) have both fungal infections and diabetes. Furthermore, 8 of the 25 individuals with fungal infections have had previous fungal infections. Additionally, 11of the 25 positive individual were steroid users. Conclusion: There was no strong relationship between fungal infection in postmenopausal women and individuals with diabetes, individuals using steroids, and individuals were previously infected with fungi.