Introduction Genus Candida comprises more than 500 species, of which around twenty species are commonly recovered from human samples. It exists as saprophyte, colonising mucosal surfaces and external genitalia of human of either gender, but especially near the urethral meatus of healthy, premenopausal women. 1 Candida is asymptomatically present in the oral cavity of many individuals, with the posterior part of the dorsum of the tongue being the favourite habitat. Significant geographical variation has been particularly observed. For example, pathogen carriage rates of as low as 7.7% have been reported in Asian children, compared to as high as 70% in children from the West. Species-wise, Candida albicans is the most frequently isolated species from Europeans and Americans, while non-albicans species (NAC) seem to predominate among Chinese. 2 These are usually part of the commensal microflora, but can cause opportunistic infections in susceptible hosts. Candida albicans is the most frequently isolated species; however, NAC including Candida parapsilosis, C. krusei, C. tropicalis, C. glabrata, and C. dubliniensis, are increasingly being detected in clinical samples, and seem to dominate in certain populations. 2 Candidiasis prevalence is increasing rapidly in immunocompromised, aged and in those patients having prolongedantibacterialtherapyandinrecipientsoforgan transplants. 3,4 Patel et al. observed a very high carrier rate in human immunodeficiency virus(HIV) positive individuals that accounts for 81.3%. 4 The candidiasis is particularly important in solid organ transplant recipients as it is associated with high mortality rate. Mostly, it is observed that fungal infections occur after 2-6 months of a transplant. Particularly, liver transplant recipients are more prone to candidiasis. It is of paramount importance to rule out the fungal infections early in them to start proper treatment in order to avoid transplant failure. 5 In recent decades, there has been an increase in the survival of recipients of solid organ transplants related to the improvement of the surgical technique, the introductionofprotocolsforimmunosuppressivetherapy, and the use of antimicrobial prophylaxis. Nonetheless, invasive fungal infection (IFI) is currently the major cause of morbidity and mortality in this group of patients. Invasive candidiasis is the most common IFI found after renal transplantation and is usually associated with total Vol. 67, No. 5, May 2017 688 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Candidiasis: Prevalence and resistance profiling in a tertiary care hospital of Pakistan Bushra Jamil, 1 Mohammad Tauseef Mukhtar Bokhari, 2 Azhar Saeed, 3 Mohammad Zahid Mukhtar Bokhari, 4 Zakir Hussain, 5 TayyabaKhalid, 6 Habib Bokhari, 7 Mohammad Imran, 8 Shahid Ahmad Abbasi 9 Abstract Objective: TodetermineCandidacolonisation/infectioninrenaltransplantpatientsandtodeterminetheresistance pattern against antifungal drugs. Method: This prospective, observational study was conducted at Al-Sayyed Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from January to October 2014, in collaboration with the Microbiology and Public Health Laboratory's, Islamabad campus..The clinical specimens investigated included respiratory tract secretions, blood, urine, high vaginal swab, skin scrapings, and plastic devices samples. Results: Of the 7,850 samples, 164(2.08%) were positive for Candida. Candida albicans were most prevalent as they were found in 114(69%) samples. Besides, 56(34%) of the positive samples were resistant to one or more antifungal agents. Highest resistance was obtained against fluconazole. We found only 5(3.04%) positive samples of Candida glabrata; of them, 3(60%)were resistant. In case of Candida spp, 27(48%) resistance was observed. In Candida albicans, 23(41%) of the samples were found to be resistant. Most of the Candida isolates was recovered from bronchial alveolar lavage. Conclusion: Although Candida albicans remained the main responsible species for Candida infections, but non- albican Candida species are also emerging. Keywords: Chronic renal failure, Candidiasis, Non-albicans Candida, Candiduria, Antifungal resistance. (JPMA67:688;2017) 1,7,8 Department of Biosciences, COMSATS Institute of InformationTechnology, Islamabad, 2 Assistant Professor (Yusra Medical & Dental College). Al-Sayed Hospital (Pvt) Ltd. Rawalpindi, 3-6,9 Al-Sayed Hospital (Pvt) Ltd. Rawalpindi. Correspondence: Bushra Jamil. Email: bushrajamil2000@gmail.com