OBJECTIVE To evaluate the occurrence of free-living amoebas of the genera Acanthamoeba and Naegleria is dust samples colleted in two hospitals. METHODS One-hundred and thirty-two dust samples were collected in two hospitals in Brazil. Hospital collection sites were the following: intensive care unit, operation rooms, nursery, kitchen, emergency and infectious diseases isolation room. The isol...

The genus Naegleria is comprised of a group of free-living ameboflagellates found in diverse habitats worldwide. Over 30 species have been isolated from soil and water but only Naegleria fowleri (N. fowleri) has been associated with human disease. Naegleria fowleri causes primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a fatal disease of the central nervous system. The pathogenesis of PAM and the rol...

Free-living amoebas (AVLs), such as Acanthamoeba, Naegleria, Balamuthia, and Vermamoeba, have been identified in both natural man-made settings, hot springs spas. Naegleria fowleri causes primary amebic meningoencephalitis, while Acanthamoeba Balamuthia cause chronic granulomatous encephalitis. can also skin lesions amoebic keratitis. This study aimed to identify the presence of these protozoa ...

During differentiation of Naegleria from vegetative amoebae to temporary flagellates, the microtubular cytoskeleton, including two basal bodies and flagella, is assembled de novo. Centrin is an integral component of these basal bodies [Levy et al., 1996, Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton 33: 298-323]. In many organisms, centrin appears to be a constitutive protein, but in Naegleria centrin gene expressi...

Introduction Definition Free-living amebae of the genera Naegleria, Acanthamoeba, and Balamuthia cause fatal diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) of humans.1-33 Naegleria fowleri causes an acute and fulminant primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) in children and young adults with a history of exposure to fresh water leading to death within 5 to 10 days after the onset of symptoms.4-6...

background: geothermal waters could be suitable niches for thermophilic free living amoebae includ­ing naegleria and hartmannella . ardebil province, northwest iran is popular for having many hot springs for recreational and health purposes activity. the present research is the first molecular based investigation regarding the presence of naegleria and hartmannella in the hot springs of ardebil...

Free-living amoebae are widely distributed in soil and water. Small number of them was implicated in human disease: Acanthamoeba spp., Naegleria fowleri, Balamuthia mandrillaris and Sappinia diploidea. Some of the infections were opportunistic, occurring mainly in immunocompromised hosts (Acanthamoeba and Balamuthia encephalitis) while others are non opportunistic (Acanthamoeba keratitis, Naegl...

BACKGROUND Naegleria spp. is a free-living amoeba of which some species including N. fowleri and N. australeinsis are highly pathogenic in human and animals. These widespread amoebae could be found in different environmental sources particularly in aquatic resources of tropical and subtropical regions. The most important source of infection is via recreational water contact. Due to the lack of ...

The nfa1 gene was cloned from a cDNA library of pathogenic Naegleria fowleri by immunoscreening; it consisted of 360 bp and produced a 13.1 kDa recombinant protein (rNfa1) that showed the pseudopodia-specific localization by immunocytochemistry in the previous study. Based on the idea that the pseudopodia-specific Nfa1 protein mentioned above seems to be involved in the pathogenicity of N. fowl...