Abstract

Objective: Aspergillus species are saprophytic, therm otolerant fungi that are ubiquitous in the air and enviro nment. The incidences of Aspergillus infections is on the rise due to increased longevity, increase in lung diseases due to pollution, improved survival from other diseases like AIDS and organ transplants. The aim of the study was to compare the sensitivity of different methods for the detection of Aspergillus infection. Methods: Total 200 samples were included in this study out of which positivity by KOH light microscopy was 20/180 (10%), Calcofluor white fluorescence microscopy 34/166 (17%) and by culture 39/161 (19.50%). Results: Comparison between KOH and Culture was P value (0.007) <0.05, Highly Significant, KOH Vs. Flu orescent P value (0.041) < 0.05, Significant and Fluore scent Vs. Culture P value >0.5, Not Significant. Speci ation showed maximum prevalence of Aspergillus niger followed by Aspergillus fumigatus , Aspergillus flavus , Aspergillus brasiliensis and Aspergillus terrus. Conclusions: Comparison of these methods showed an improved detection of Aspergillus by Fluorescence Microscopy and culture as compared to KOH.