Pathogenic Acanthamoeba strains from water sources in Jamaica, West Indies

Abstract In 2004, samples of tap water and of river and sea water associated with human activities were collected in Jamaica, West Indies, and checked for free-living Acanthamoeba. The morphologies of the cysts and trophozoites observed and the results of PCR-based amplifications with a genus-specific primer pair were used to identify the Acanthamoeba isolates. The potential of each isolate as a human pathogen was then evaluated using thermotolerance and osmotolerance assays and two PCR-based assays for Acanthamoeba pathogenesis. Acanthamoeba were identified in 36.1%, 26.4% and 49.6% of the tap-, river- and sea-water samples collected, respectively. Pathogenic potential was shown by 60.0% of the Acanthamoeba strains isolated from tap water, 68.4% of the strains from river water, and 40.4% of the seawater strains. Sequencing of ribosomal DNA revealed the T1, T2, T4, T5, T7, T9 and T11 genotypes. Isolates of the T4 genotype were collected from tap, rain and sea water and, as expected, exhibited the most pathogenic traits; most were osmotolerant, thermotolerant and expressing extracellular serine protease. This is the first study of the occurrence and distribution of Acanthamoeba in water in the West Indies, and the results confirm the presence of potentially pathogenic strains in Jamaica.

[1]  J. Lindo,et al.  Acanthamoeba infection as a cause of severe keratitis in a soft contact lens wearer in Jamaica. , 2005, The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene.

[2]  J. Lorenzo-Morales,et al.  A SPECIFIC PRIMER PAIR FOR THE DIAGNOSIS AND IDENTIFICATION OF ACANTHAMOEBA ASTRONYXIS BY RANDOM AMPLIFIED POLYMORPHIC DNA– POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION , 2005, The Journal of parasitology.

[3]  J. Lorenzo-Morales,et al.  Isolation and identification of pathogenic Acanthamoeba strains in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain from water sources , 2005, Parasitology Research.

[4]  F. Schuster,et al.  Free-living amoebae as opportunistic and non-opportunistic pathogens of humans and animals. , 2004, International journal for parasitology.

[5]  A. Tomlinson,et al.  Molecular and Physiological Evaluation of Subtropical Environmental Isolates of Acanthamoeba spp., Causal Agent of Acanthamoeba Keratitis , 2003, The Journal of eukaryotic microbiology.

[6]  D. Frazer,et al.  Acanthamoeba keratitis: the role of domestic tap water contamination in the United Kingdom. , 2004, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[7]  B. V. Hernández,et al.  Design and Evaluation of a Specific Primer Pair for the Diagnosis and Identification of Acanthamoeba polyphaga , 2004, Current Microbiology.

[8]  Stefan Panaiotov,et al.  The identification of free-living environmental isolates of amoebae from Bulgaria , 2004, Parasitology Research.

[9]  J. Lorenzo-Morales,et al.  Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Profiles as a Tool for the Identification of Acanthamoeba divionensis , 2003, Current Microbiology.

[10]  N. Khan.  Pathogenesis of Acanthamoeba infections. , 2003, Microbial pathogenesis.

[11]  N. Khan,et al.  Genotypic, phenotypic, biochemical, physiological and pathogenicity-based categorisation of Acanthamoeba strains. , 2003, Folia parasitologica.

[12]  G. Cabral,et al.  Acanthamoeba spp. as Agents of Disease in Humans , 2003, Clinical Microbiology Reviews.

[13]  S. Harris,et al.  Distribution of free-living amoebae in James River, Virginia, USA , 2002, Parasitology Research.

[14]  N. Khan,et al.  Molecular and Physiological Differentiation Between Pathogenic and Nonpathogenic Acanthamoeba , 2002, Current Microbiology.

[15]  T. Padhya,et al.  Acanthamoeba: A Rare Primary Cause of Rhinosinusitis , 2002, The Laryngoscope.

[16]  D. Lam,et al.  18S Ribosomal DNA Typing and Tracking of Acanthamoeba Species Isolates from Corneal Scrape Specimens, Contact Lenses, Lens Cases, and Home Water Supplies of Acanthamoeba Keratitis Patients in Hong Kong , 2002, Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

[17]  H. Kong,et al.  Mitochondrial DNA Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) and 18S Small-Subunit Ribosomal DNA PCR-RFLP Analyses of Acanthamoeba Isolated from Contact Lens Storage Cases of Residents in Southwestern Korea , 2002, Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

[18]  R. Gast.  Development of an Acanthamoeba-specific Reverse Dot-Blot and the Discovery of a New Ribotype , 2001, The Journal of eukaryotic microbiology.

[19]  M. Coletta,et al.  Standardized Method of MeasuringAcanthamoeba Antibodies in Sera from Healthy Human Subjects , 2001, Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology.

[20]  N. Khan,et al.  Acanthamoeba Can Be Differentiated by the Polymerase Chain Reaction and Simple Plating Assays , 2001, Current Microbiology.

[21]  V. Rao,et al.  Acanthamoeba keratitis in Pondicherry. , 2001, The Journal of communicable diseases.

[22]  C. Gropper,et al.  Cutaneous Acanthamoeba in a patient with AIDS: a case study with a review of new therapy; quiz 386. , 2001, Cutis.

[23]  H. Kong,et al.  Isolation and characterization of a cDNA encoding a subtilisin-like serine proteinase (ahSUB) from Acanthamoeba healyi. , 2000, Molecular and biochemical parasitology.

[24]  Savitri Sharma,et al.  Patient characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment of non-contact lens related Acanthamoeba keratitis , 2000, The British journal of ophthalmology.

[25]  H. Aspöck,et al.  Correlations between Morphological, Molecular Biological, and Physiological Characteristics in Clinical and Nonclinical Isolates of Acanthamoeba spp , 2000, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[26]  G. Visvesvara,et al.  Granulomatous Amebic Encephalitis in a Patient with AIDS: Isolation of Acanthamoeba sp. Group II from Brain Tissue and Successful Treatment with Sulfadiazine and Fluconazole , 2000, Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

[27]  G. Cabral,et al.  The Increasing Importance of Acanthamoeba Infections1 , 2000 .

[28]  G. Cabral,et al.  The increasing importance of Acanthamoeba infections. , 2000, The Journal of eukaryotic microbiology.

[29]  J. Alves,et al.  Random amplified polymorphic DNA profiles as a tool for the characterization of Brazilian keratitis isolates of the genus Acanthamoeba. , 2000, Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologicas.

[30]  H Alizadeh,et al.  The pathogenesis of Acanthamoeba keratitis. , 1999, Microbes and infection.

[31]  O. Lehmann,et al.  Acanthamoeba keratitis: multicentre survey in England 1992–6 , 1998, The British journal of ophthalmology.

[32]  P. Fuerst,et al.  The Evolutionary History of the Genus Acanthamoeba and the Identification of Eight New 18S rRNA Gene Sequence Types , 1998, The Journal of eukaryotic microbiology.

[33]  Z. Szénási,et al.  Isolation, identification and increasing importance of 'free-living' amoebae causing human disease. , 1998, Journal of medical microbiology.

[34]  J. Sell,et al.  Granulomatous amebic encephalitis caused by acanthamoeba , 1997, Neuroradiology.

[35]  A. J. Martínez,et al.  Free‐living, Amphizoic and Opportunistic Amebas , 1997, Brain pathology.

[36]  R. Novak,et al.  Identification of two genetic markers that distinguish pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains of Acanthamoeba spp. , 1997, Parasitology Research.

[37]  C. A. Eggink,et al.  [Acanthamoeba keratitis]. , 1996, Nederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde.

[38]  G. Visvesvara,et al.  Identification of Acanthamoeba at the generic and specific levels using the polymerase chain reaction. , 1992, The Journal of protozoology.

[39]  H. Mergeryan.  The prevalence of Acanthamoeba in the human environment. , 1991, Reviews of infectious diseases.

[40]  G. Visvesvara,et al.  Naegleria and Acanthamoeba infections: review. , 1990, Reviews of infectious diseases.

[41]  G. Visvesvara,et al.  Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome associated with Acanthamoeba infection and other opportunistic organisms. , 1986, Archives of pathology & laboratory medicine.

[42]  J. Sambrook,et al.  Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual , 2001 .

[43]  M. Pussard,et al.  Morphology of the cystic wall and taxonomy of the genus acanthamoeba protozoa amoebida , 1977 .