De Jonckheere J F
Department of Microbiology, Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Brussels, Belgium.
Rev Infect Dis. 1991 Mar-Apr;13 Suppl 5:S385-7. doi: 10.1093/clind/13.supplement_5.s385.
Acanthamoeba is a free-living ameba that is present in all types of environments throughout the world. The recent increase in cases of keratitis, especially in relation to an increase in the use of contact lenses, is probably due to the omnipresence of the organism as a result of the pronounced resistance of its cysts to disinfection and desiccation. The temperature of the eye is lower than that of the rest of the human body. Therefore, the presence of Acanthamoeba strains that grow at lower temperatures may also contribute to infection, thereby increasing the number of possibly infectious amebas. Recent evidence, however, indicates that perhaps only a limited number of species cause ocular disease. Delineation of the exact species of Acanthamoeba that cause keratitis is a prerequisite for the study of the ecology of the keratitis-producing amebas.
棘阿米巴是一种自由生活的阿米巴原虫，存在于世界各地的各种环境中。近期角膜炎病例的增加，尤其是与隐形眼镜使用增加相关的病例，可能是由于该生物体无处不在，因为其囊肿对消毒和干燥具有显著抗性。眼部温度低于人体其他部位。因此，存在能在较低温度下生长的棘阿米巴菌株也可能导致感染，从而增加了可能具有传染性的阿米巴原虫数量。然而，最近的证据表明，可能只有少数物种会引发眼部疾病。确定导致角膜炎的棘阿米巴的确切物种是研究引发角膜炎的阿米巴原虫生态学的先决条件。
