The Occurrence Acanthamoeba (Free Living Amoeba) in Environmental and Respiratory Samples in Poland

Free-living amoebae are amphizoic organisms living in soil, air, fresh and sea water. Species belonging to the genera Acanthamoeba, Naegleria and Balamuthia are human parasites, which may invade the central nervous system, lungs, adrenal glands, skin, eyes and lower jaw. In this paper, we examine the occurrence of potentially virulent strains of amoebae in water bodies of the West Pomeranian and Lubuskie voivodeships (north-western Poland) and in biological material from patients with symptoms of pneumonia. We examined 45 natural water bodies (lakes, ponds, rivers, seas and lagoons), 39 artificial water bodies (swimming pools, firefighting and reservoirs fountains) and the water supply system in the city of Szczecin, and collected altogether 216 samples. We also examined biological material from 130 immunocompromised patients with atypical symptoms of pneumonia. From the collected environmental samples we isolated 110 strains of amoebae from the amphizoic group, 24 of which were thermophilic. Based on the morphological attributes of trophozoites and cysts, all the isolates were classified to the genus Acanthamoeba. Amoebae from the genus Acanthamoeba were also isolated from biological samples from patients with symptoms of pneumonia with secondary immune deficiencies. The presence of amoebae was determined in 2 samples of bronchoaspirate fluid taken from patients after chemotherapy and in 2 samples of bronchoalveolar lavage from patients with respiratory insufficiency. Molecular identification of the amoeabe isolated from biological samples confirmed their affinity to Acanthamoeaba genus, two of them classified as T4 genotypes. The two other sequences could not be classified to any known Acanthamoeba genotype. Thus there is a need for further investigation to establish Acanthamoeba genotype in biological material from patients with immunosuppression and pneumonia symptoms.