Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
J Water Health. 2012 Mar;10(1):140-6. doi: 10.2166/wh.2011.068.
A survey was conducted to determine the presence of free-living amoebae (FLA), especially Acanthamoeba and Naegleria, in river recreation areas in Tehran Province, Iran. All rivers surveyed were associated with human activity, and two were also a source of municipal tap water. Fifty-five water samples from 10 major rivers were screened for FLA and identified by morphological characters, PCR amplification targeting specific genes for Acanthamoeba (DF3 region of Rns gene) and other FLA (ITS PCR), and homology analysis. The percentage of positive FLA isolates was 27.3%, of which 80% were Acanthamoeba, assigned to the T4 and T15 genotype, and 20% were Naegleria. Isolation of Acanthamoeba T4 genotype (91.7%) from recreation areas could be a health threat and a sanitary risk associated with human activity where young people and tourists congregate in summer. Posting of warning signs and education of high-risk individuals are important for disease prevention. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of genotype T15 (clustered with A. jacobsi) identified in Iran and the first report of the distribution of FLA such as Naegleria (N. pagei, N. clarki and N. fultoni) in recreation areas in rivers of Tehran Province using molecular methods.
一项调查旨在确定伊朗德黑兰省河流娱乐区中自由生活阿米巴（FLA），尤其是棘阿米巴和纳氏棘阿米巴的存在情况。所有接受调查的河流都与人类活动有关，其中有两条河流也是城市自来水的水源。从 10 条主要河流中采集了 55 个水样，通过形态特征、针对棘阿米巴（Rns 基因的 DF3 区域）和其他 FLA（ITS PCR）的特定基因进行 PCR 扩增以及同源性分析来筛查 FLA。FLA 阳性分离物的百分比为 27.3%，其中 80%为棘阿米巴，归属于 T4 和 T15 基因型，20%为纳氏棘阿米巴。从娱乐区分离出的棘阿米巴 T4 基因型（91.7%）可能对人类活动构成健康威胁和卫生风险，因为年轻人和游客在夏季会聚集在那里。张贴警告标志和对高风险人群进行教育对于预防疾病很重要。据我们所知，这是首次在伊朗报道鉴定出基因型 T15（与 A. jacobsi 聚类），也是首次使用分子方法在德黑兰省河流娱乐区中报告发现 FLA，如纳氏棘阿米巴（N. pagei、N. clarki 和 N. fultoni）。
