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Acanthamoeba T4, T5 and T11 Isolated From Mineral Water Bottles in Southern Brazil

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Abstract

Acanthamoeba is a protist potential pathogen, capable of causing a blinding keratitis in contact lens wearers and disseminated infection, leading to granulomatous amebic encephalitis in immunocompromised individuals. This amoeba is a ubiquitous organism that has been isolated from various domestic water systems, such as cooling towers and hospital water networks. The objective of this work was to investigate the presence of Acanthamoeba in mineral water bottles marketed in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil. Positive samples were further classified at the genotype level after sequencing the ASA.S1 region of 18S rDNA gene. Six of the eight isolates belonged to T5 genotype, one to T4 genotype, and one was T11. Several genotypes have been reported worldwide as causative of pathologies in humans, including genotypes T4, T5 and T11. Overall, the widespread distribution of potentially pathogenic Acanthamoeba strains in the studied source demands more awareness within the public and health professionals, because this pathogen is emerging as a risk for human health worldwide.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Vinicius José Maschio, Fernanda Chies, Ana Maris Carlesso, Amanda Carvalho, Sayonara Peixoto Rosa, Sueli Teresinha Van Der Sand & Marilise Brittes Rott

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  1. Vinicius José Maschio
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  2. Fernanda Chies
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Correspondence to Vinicius José Maschio.

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Maschio, V.J., Chies, F., Carlesso, A.M. et al. Acanthamoeba T4, T5 and T11 Isolated From Mineral Water Bottles in Southern Brazil. Curr Microbiol 70, 6–9 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-014-0676-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-014-0676-7

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