Acanthamoeba, a free-living amoeba, is widely distributed in the environment, water sources, soil, dust, and air. It can cause keratitis in contact lens wearers with poor hygiene and also fatal granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE) in immunocompromised hosts. The aim of this study was to gain some insights into the distribution and genotypes of the potentially pathogenic species of Acanthamoeba present in water sources in north of Iran. Total 43 Acanthamoeba species were isolated from 77 water samples taken from different water sources within the Mazandaran province in Northern Iran (Sari city and suburbs). Isolates were identified based on cyst and trophozoite morphological characteristics as well genetics. PCR fragments corresponding to the small-subunit 18S rRNA gene were sequenced for 20 of 43 positive isolates. The results revealed that 83.3% of sequenced isolates belonged to the T4 genotype and the rest belonged to the T2 genotype. Our results indicated that Acanthamoeba is widely distributed in Sari city. As the incidence in Iran of amoebic keratitis has increased in recent years, the exact estimation of the prevalence of this amoeba and its predominant genotype may play a crucial role in prevention of the disease. Sari city has several rivers, seashores, and natural recreational amenities, which attract visitors during the year. This is the first report of Acanthamoeba genotypes from water sources in Sari city, Mazandaran province of Iran, and the results suggest that more attention is needed to protect the visiting population and immunocompromised individuals.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Prevalence of Free-Living Amoebae in Various Water Sources in Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Laya Shamsi, Mina Mamizadeh, Mohammad Reza Mohammadi, Ali Pouryousef, Maryam Kheiry, Milad Badri, Ali Asghari, Fariba Shadfar Acta Parasitologica.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Contamination of fresh vegetables in municipal stores with pathogenic Acanthamoeba genotypes; a public health concern Marziye Fatemi, Maryam Niyyati, Soheila Rouhani, Seyed Ahmad Karamati, Hamed Mirjalali, Panagiotis Karanis International Journal of Environmental Health Research.2023; 33(10): 1010. CrossRef
Occurrence, molecular diversity and pathogenicity of
Acanthamoeba
spp. isolated from aquatic environments of Northeastern Brazil
Yrna Lorena Matos de Oliveira, Erica Tirzah Santos Lima, Marilise Brittes Rott, Roberta Pereira Miranda Fernandes, Sona Jain, Marcus Vinicius de Aragão Batista, Silvio Santana Dolabella International Journal of Environmental Health Research.2023; 33(12): 1686. CrossRef
Molecular evidence for a new lineage within the Acanthamoeba T4 genotype Daniele Corsaro, Danielle Venditti Parasitology Research.2023; 122(6): 1445. CrossRef
Molecular characterization of Acanthamoeba spp. from different sources in Gonabad, Razavi Khorasan, Iran Mitra Salehi, Adel Spotin, Fatemeh Hajizadeh, Faezeh Soleimani, Azar Shokri Gene Reports.2022; 27: 101573. CrossRef
Molecular identification and genotyping of Acanthamoeba spp., in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from immunocompetent patients with chronic respiratory disorders (CRD) Reza Saberi, Maryam Nakhaei, Mahdi Fakhar, Hossein Zarrinfar, Ali Sharifpour, Hajar Ziaei Hezarjaribi Parasitology Research.2022; 121(10): 3013. CrossRef
Acanthamoeba and a bacterial endocytobiont isolated from recreational freshwaters Diego Gastón Sanguino-Jorquera, Verónica Beatriz Rajal, María Mercedes Juárez, Hugo Ramiro Poma, Verónica Patricia Irazusta Parasitology Research.2022; 121(12): 3693. CrossRef
Molecular Identification of Pathogenic Free-Living Amoeba from Household Biofilm Samples in Iran: A Risk Factor for Acanthamoeba Keratitis Maryam Norouzi, Reza Saberi, Maryam Niyyati, Jacob Lorenzo-Morales, Hamed Mirjalali, Marziye Fatemi, Ehsan Javanmard, Seyed Ahmad Karamati Microorganisms.2021; 9(10): 2098. CrossRef
Clinical presentations, genotypic diversity and phylogenetic analysis of Acanthamoeba species causing keratitis Swasthikka Roshni Prithiviraj, Siva Ganesa Karthikeyan Rajapandian, Hariharan Gnanam, Rameshkumar Gunasekaran, Ponlakshmi Mariappan, Sharma Sankalp Singh, Lalitha Prajna Journal of Medical Microbiology.2020; 69(1): 87. CrossRef
Isolation and molecular identification of free-living amoebae (Naegleria spp., Acanthamoeba spp. and Vermamoeba spp.) from mineral springs in Guilan Province, northern Iran Mohammad Hossein Feiz Haddad, Habib Habibpour, Mohammad Reza Mahmoudi Journal of Water and Health.2020; 18(1): 60. CrossRef
Investigating Domestic Shower Settings as a Risk Factor for Acanthamoeba Keratitis Binod Rayamajhee, Dinesh Subedi, Seoyoung Won, Jamie (Jung Yun) Kim, Ajay Vijay, Jacqueline Tan, Fiona L. Henriquez, Mark Willcox, Nicole A. Carnt Water.2020; 12(12): 3493. CrossRef
Development of a method to extract protozoan DNA from black soil Kanako Yamanouchi, Masahiro Takeuchi, Hiroaki Arima, Takakiyo Tsujiguchi Parasite Epidemiology and Control.2019; 4: e00081. CrossRef
Occurrence of free-living amoebae (Acanthamoeba, Balamuthia, Naegleria) in water samples in Peninsular Malaysia Shobana Gabriel, Naveed Ahmed Khan, Ruqaiyyah Siddiqui Journal of Water and Health.2019; 17(1): 160. CrossRef
Genotyping determination of Acanthamoeba strains: an original study and a systematic review in Iran Hadi Mirahmadi, Maryam Mansouri Nia, Adel Ebrahimzadeh, Ahmad Mehravaran, Reza Shafiei, Mohammad Taghi Rahimi, Reza Zolfaghari Emameh, Harlan R. Barker Journal of Water and Health.2019; 17(5): 717. CrossRef
Occurrence and molecular characterisation of Acanthamoeba isolated from recreational hot springs in Malaysia: evidence of pathogenic potential Rosnani Hanim Mohd Hussain, Ahmad Razali Ishak, Mohamed Kamel Abdul Ghani, Naveed Ahmed Khan, Ruqaiyyah Siddiqui, Tengku Shahrul Anuar Journal of Water and Health.2019; 17(5): 813. CrossRef
A review of Acanthamoeba keratitis in the middle East and Iran MohammadHossein Feiz Haddad, Azar Shokri, Habib Habibpour, SeyedeManizhe Heidar Neiadi Journal of Acute Disease.2019; 8(4): 133. CrossRef
Isolation and molecular identification of Acanthamoeba spp. from hot springs in Mazandaran province, northern Iran Samira Dodangeh, Elham Kialashaki, Ahmad Daryani, Mehdi Sharif, Shahabeddin Sarvi, Yusef Dadi Moghaddam, Seyed Abdollah Hosseini Journal of Water and Health.2018; 16(5): 807. CrossRef
Isolation and identification of Acanthamoeba from pond water of parks in a tropical and subtropical region in the Middle East, and its relation with physicochemical parameters Shiva Ghaderifar, Ali Asghar Najafpoor, Hossein Zarrinfar, Habibollah Esmaily, Elham Hajialilo BMC Microbiology.2018;[Epub] CrossRef
Identification and ultrastructural characterization of Acanthamoeba bacterial endocytobionts belonging to the Alphaproteobacteria class Li Li Chan, Joon Wah Mak, Stephen Ambu, Pei Yee Chong, Lorenzo Brusetti PLOS ONE.2018; 13(10): e0204732. CrossRef
Identification and Genotypic Characterization of Potentially Pathogenic Acanthamoeba Isolated from Tap Water in Wuxi, China Meixu Wang, Guangxu Sun, Yangkai Sun, Xiaomin You, Xiaoxue Li, Yang Cheng, Yinghua Xuan The Korean Journal of Parasitology.2018; 56(6): 615. CrossRef
Contamination of swimming pools and hot tubs biofilms with Acanthamoeba Behroz Mahdavi Poor, Abdolhossein Dalimi, Fatemeh Ghafarifar, Fariba Khoshzaban, Jalal Abdolalizadeh Acta Parasitologica.2018; 63(1): 147. CrossRef
Free-living amoebae in the water resources of Iran: a systematic review Ehsan Saburi, Toktam Rajaii, Asma Behdari, Mohammad Hasan Kohansal, Hossein Vazini Journal of Parasitic Diseases.2017; 41(4): 919. CrossRef
First
Prev
