The long-term storage of pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains of both Naegleria and Acanthamoeba spp. were tested on Page amoeba saline agar slopes for 24 months at room temperature and for 8 months at -10, 4, 10, and 15 degrees C. Acanthamoeba strains showed better survival potential than Naegleria strains, particularly when they were stored at temperatures equal to or lower than room temperat...

Free-ling amoebae (FLA) including Acanthamoeba spp., Naegleria fowleri, Balamuthia mandrillaris and Sappinia pedata, can cause opportunistic infections leading to severe brain pathologies. Human infections with pathogenic FLA have been increasingly documented in many countries. In Switzerland, thus far, the occurrence and distribution of potentially pathogenic FLA has not been investigated. Swi...

Free-living amoebae (FLA) occupy a wide range of freshwater, marine, and soil habitats, and are opportunistic pathogens in human beings. While Acanthamoeba spp., Naegleria fowleri, and Balamuthia mandrillaris are well-known opportunistic organisms, Vannella epipetala is nonpathogenic. Sediments were collected from a freshwater source from a park in Jamaica to investigate the presence of FLA. Ac...

background : acanthamoeba- bacteria interactions enable pathogenic bacteria to tolerate harsh conditions and lead to transmission to the susceptible host. the present study was aimed to address the presence of bacterial endosymbionts of acanthamoeba isolated from recreational water sources of tehran, iran. to the best of our knowledge this is the first study regarding occurrence of bacteria in ...

introduction: acanthamoeba is an opportunistic protist, which is ubiquitously distributed in the environment. infection with acanthamoeba spp. poses threat to human health, such as, acanthamoeba keratitis (ak) that is a vision-threatening infection of the cornea. this study aimed to identify the species of acanthamoeba strains isolated from cornea of keratitis patients by polymerase chain react...

[b]Abstract Introduction[/b]. Among free-living amoebae that are widely distributed in nature only four genera/species are known as agents of human infections:[i] Acanthamoeba spp., Naegleriafowleri, Balamuthia mandrillaris[/i] and[i] Sappiniapedata[/i]. These amoebae are not well adapted to parasitism, and could exist in the human environment without the need for a host. Infections due to thes...

Acanthamoeba keratitis is a vision-threatening infection caused by pathogenic species of the genus Acanthamoeba. Although not all Acanthamoeba spp. can cause keratitis, it is important to differentiate pathogenic species and isolates from nonpathogens. Since extracellular proteases may play a role in ocular pathology, we used colorimetric, cytopathic, and zymographic assays to assess extracellu...

background: free-living amoebae (fla) including acanthamoeba spp. and hartmannella spp. are the causative agents of serious corneal infection especially within contact lens wearers. thus contact lenses and their storage case could be a suitable niche for potentially pathogenic amoebae. the main objective of the present study was to evaluate the contamination of contact lenses to free living amo...

Members of the free-living amebic genera Acanthamoeba, Balamuthia, and Naegleria are known to cause infections of the central nervous system (CNS) of humans and other animals. Several species of Acanthamoeba cause an insidious and chronic disease, granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE), principally in immunocompromised hosts including persons infected with HIV/AIDS. Additionally, Acanthamoeba ...