Association of Vulvovaginal Candidiasis with ABO Blood Group Among Women in a Tertiary Care Hospital, South-Eastern Nigeria

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) continues to be a common problem worldwide affecting all strata of women in the society despite therapeutic advances. Candida is the most common microorganism responsible for vulvovaginal candidiasis in adolescent women. Owing to the scare, yet inconsistent reports about the possible association between the ABO blood group and vulvovaginal candidiasis, this study was done. A total of 100 subjects aged between 18 and 50 years attending the gynaecology clinic of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH), Nnewi were used for this study. Ethical approval was obtained from the ethical committee of NAUTH. Following analysis and speciation using CHROMagar candidaTM, a total of 42 Candida species were isolated giving a 42% prevalence for vulvovaginal candidiasis by culture. Three species of Candida were found to be dominant in the vagina of the women studied namely Candida albicans, Candida krusei and Candida tropicalis comprising 61.9%, 28.5% and 9.5% respectively. Results have revealed that there is no association between the ABO blood group and vulvovaginal candidiasis (p>0.05)