Quantification of vaginal Candida albicans infections in rodents.

Estradiol-treated mice and estradiol-treated ovariectomized rats support vaginal infections with Candida albicans for several months; low-grade uterine infections occur in around half the animals. A comparison has been made and the relative advantages discussed of quantifying these infections by sampling with a wire loop and plating on BiGGY agar, sampling by vaginal washing, or removal and homogenization of the vagina followed by dilution and plate counting.