Todd Cheridah D, Reyes-Batlle María, Piñero José E, Martínez-Carretero Enrique, Valladares Basilio, Streete Don, Lorenzo-Morales Jacob, Lindo John F
University Institute of Tropical Diseases and Public Health of the Canary Islands, University of La Laguna, Avda Astrofísico Fco. Sánchez, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain; Department of Microbiology, University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica E-mail:
University Institute of Tropical Diseases and Public Health of the Canary Islands, University of La Laguna, Avda Astrofísico Fco. Sánchez, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
J Water Health. 2015 Sep;13(3):909-19. doi: 10.2166/wh.2015.232.
Free living amoebae (FLA) are amphizoic protozoa that are ubiquitous in nature. Infection with FLA may result in neurological, ocular and skin infections. Exposure to Acanthamoeba occurs frequently through water contact and knowledge of the presence of the organisms in water sources is important in understanding transmission dynamics. The distribution of Acanthamoeba was studied in recreational and domestic water samples collected from across Jamaica. Morphological assessment and polymerase chain reaction revealed Acanthamoeba spp. isolates in 50.6% (42/83) and 17.3% (14/81) of recreational and domestic water, respectively. Sequencing of the DF3 region of the 18S rDNA resulted in the identification of genotypes T3, T4, T5, T10 and T11 corresponding to Acanthamoeba spp: A. griffini, A. triangularis, A. lenticulata, A. culbertsoni and A. hatchetti. Moreover, T4 was the most frequently isolated genotype in both recreational and domestic water. Thermotolerance and osmotolerance assays indicated that most isolates were potentially pathogenic. This is the first report of T3 and T10 genotypes in the Caribbean and the first report of these Acanthamoeba spp. in Jamaican waters. The study shows that there is potential risk of infection to contact wearers who practise poor lens care. Further, Acanthamoeba should be considered as a cause of neurological infections in Jamaica.
自由生活阿米巴（FLA）是自然界中普遍存在的兼性原生动物。感染FLA可能导致神经、眼部和皮肤感染。通过接触水经常会接触到棘阿米巴，了解水源中这些生物体的存在对于理解传播动态很重要。对从牙买加各地采集的娱乐用水和生活用水样本中的棘阿米巴分布进行了研究。形态学评估和聚合酶链反应分别在50.6%（42/83）的娱乐用水和17.3%（14/81）的生活用水中发现了棘阿米巴属分离株。对18S rDNA的DF3区域进行测序后，鉴定出了与棘阿米巴属物种相对应的基因型T3、T4、T5、T10和T11：格里菲斯棘阿米巴、三角棘阿米巴、透镜状棘阿米巴、库氏棘阿米巴和哈氏棘阿米巴。此外，T4是娱乐用水和生活用水中最常分离出的基因型。耐热性和耐渗性试验表明，大多数分离株具有潜在致病性。这是加勒比地区首次报道T3和T10基因型，也是牙买加水域首次报道这些棘阿米巴属物种。该研究表明，佩戴隐形眼镜且护理不当的人存在感染的潜在风险。此外，在牙买加，棘阿米巴应被视为神经感染的一个病因。
