{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T13:00:39Z","timestamp":1785416439709,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,11]],"date-time":"2026-06-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781136000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City","award":["C2024-44-14"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["C2024-44-14"]}]},{"award":["C2024-44-14"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["C2024-44-14"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00waaqh38","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a common fungal infection among reproductive-age women and is increasingly challenged by the emergence of non-albicans Candida species and reduced azole susceptibility. This prospective cross-sectional study investigated 235 symptomatic reproductive-age women attending two healthcare facilities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to determine VVC prevalence, Candida species distribution, pregnancy-associated patterns, antifungal susceptibility, and diagnostic performance. Vaginal swabs were cultured on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar and CHROMagar\u2122 Candida, while species identification was confirmed by PCR-RFLP targeting the ITS region. Susceptibility to fluconazole and clotrimazole was assessed using the disk diffusion method. Candida spp. was detected in 55.7% of participants. C. albicans accounted for 50.3% of isolates, whereas non-albicans Candida species represented 49.7%, indicating a substantial species shift. VVC was more frequent among pregnant women, particularly in the third trimester. Most C. albicans, C. tropicalis, and C. parapsilosis isolates remained susceptible to azoles; however, C. glabrata showed markedly reduced susceptibility to fluconazole and clotrimazole. CHROMagar\u2122 Candida reliably identified C. albicans but misclassified several non-albicans Candida isolates compared with PCR-RFLP. These findings highlight the need for routine species-level diagnosis, antifungal susceptibility testing, and strengthened VVC surveillance in reproductive and antenatal healthcare settings in Vietnam.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens15060625","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,12]],"date-time":"2026-06-12T09:49:51Z","timestamp":1781257791000},"page":"625","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Escalating Antifungal Resistance Among Candida Species in Reproductive-Age Women in Vietnam: Implications for Women\u2019s Health and Healthcare Systems"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4510-2660","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bac V. G.","family":"Nguyen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tu Thien Nhat","family":"Nguyen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Health Sciences, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bang Chau Ngoc","family":"Tu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sciences, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-2520-5304","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hung Van","family":"Cao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Health Sciences, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bich Ngoc Thi","family":"Nguyen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Thu Duc General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Thanh Tri","family":"Vu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Thu Duc General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3219-8512","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gia-Phong","family":"Vu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Program in Comparative Biochemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hoai Thu","family":"Le","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Molecular Biomedicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7421-1623","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Phuoc Vinh","family":"Nguyen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Health Sciences, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam"},{"name":"Research Center of Discovery and Development of Healthcare Products, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e339","DOI":"10.1016\/S1473-3099(18)30103-8","article-title":"Global burden of recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis: A systematic review","volume":"18","author":"Denning","year":"2018","journal-title":"Lancet Infect. 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