Water-based disease and microbial growth *
Jamie Bartram, Rachel Baum, Peter A. Coclanis, David M. Gute, David Kay, Stéphanie McFadyen, Katherine Pond, William Robertson, Michael J. Rouse in Routledge Handbook of Water and Health, 2015
Almost any source of warm water is a likely source of Legionella. Outbreaks have been associated with cooling towers, warm groundwater, hot water heaters, shower heads, hot tubs, humidifiers, ornamental fountains, thermal springs, misters, etc. Legionellae are more resistant to chlorine than Escherichia coli, and can grow in waters at temperatures between 25 and 45oC. It can be controlled in hot water systems by raising the temperature of hot water heaters to over 60 oC and to 50 oC at outlets combined with regular flushing of the distribution system. Legionella has been shown to be present in drinking water systems even when exposed to 0.75 mg/L of free chlorine, as it commonly resides within a protective microbial biofilm and can be protected by its intracellular association with protozoa such as Acanthamoebaspp. (Buse et al., 2012; Thomas and Ashbolt, 2011). Legionellais addressed specifically in Chapter 8.
Corneal Ulcers and Contact Lens Keratitis
Amy-lee Shirodkar, Gwyn Samuel Williams, Bushra Thajudeen in Practical Emergency Ophthalmology Handbook, 2019
Corneal scrapes and swabs: Any ulcer that is central, large, deep, chronic or atypical should be scraped. A #15 Bard-Parker blade or a large gauge needle or kimura spatula can be used to obtain a large enough tissue sample from the advancing borders of the infected area. Remove all necrotic tissue from the ulcer before scraping as this is full of dead useless stuff. Samples should be sent for gram stain and culture for bacteria and fungi. If there is any suspicion of acanthamoeba, samples should be obtained for separate special staining and culture depending on local methods. Remove fluorescein dye from the eye prior to using swabs to improve test accuracy.
Acanthamoeba
Dongyou Liu in Laboratory Models for Foodborne Infections, 2017
As a free-living organism, Acanthamoeba is ubiquitously distributed in nature and has been found in the environment (e.g., soil, dust, air, natural and treated water, seawater, swimming pools, sewage, sediments, air-conditioning units, domestic tap water, drinking water treatment plants, and bottled water), health care facilities (e.g., dental treatment units, hospitals and dialysis units, eyewash stations, contact lenses, and lens cases), vegetation, animals (e.g., fish, amphibia, reptiles, and mammals), and humans (skin, nasal cavities, throat, intestines, brain, lungs, and cornea) [14–16].
Opportunistic free-living amoebal pathogens
Published in Pathogens and Global Health, 2022
Mohammad Ridwane Mungroo, Naveed Ahmed Khan, Sutherland Maciver, Ruqaiyyah Siddiqui
Pathogenic free-living amoebae, such as Acanthamoeba spp., Naegleria fowleri and Balamuthia mandrillaris, cause infection of the central nervous system (CNS) [1, 2]. The detection of brain-eating amoebae in drinking water supplies is of concern, which further indicates the severe threat posed by free-living amoebae to communities [3–6]. Furthermore, infection of the CNS with Acanthamoeba spp., Naegleria fowleri and Balamuthia mandrillaris almost always leads to mortality [7]. Moreover, cases of amoebic infection are under-reported worldwide, because of lack of awareness and diagnostic modalities, as well as misdiagnosis, due to similarity in symptoms, of amoebic infection of CNS to other common CNS infections such as bacterial meningitis, and thus, the true burden of cases due to these amoebae is unknown [8,9].
Development of allergic conjunctivitis induced by Acanthamoeba excretory-secretory protein and the effect of resolvin D1 on treatment
Published in Current Eye Research, 2021
Min Seung Kang, Jongsoo Lee, Sung Hee Park, Hak Sun Yu, Ji-Eun Lee
Allergic reactions are induced by various environmental allergens. Marsh et al. described highly purified and well-characterized allergens such as the pollen of grasses, weeds, and trees as well as house dust mites, fungal spores, and animal dander.1Acanthamoeba is a protozoan genus of pathogenic and opportunistic free-living amoebae that can survive in various environments and can be isolated from soil, dust, air, water, seawater, swimming pools, domestic tap water, and contact lenses and cases.2,3 Additionally, excretory-secretory proteins (ESPs) from Acanthamoeba species contain strong proteases,4,5 and our previous studies demonstrated that Acanthamoeba may be aero-allergens.6,7 Thus, we suggest that ESPs of Acanthamoeba could be allergens to conjunctival cells and induce ocular allergic conjunctivitis (AC).
Epidemiology of free-living amoebae in the Philippines: a review and update
Published in Pathogens and Global Health, 2022
Giovanni D. Milanez, Frederick R. Masangkay, Gregorio L. Martin I, Ma. Frieda Z Hapan, Edilberto P. Manahan, Jeffrey Castillo, Panagiotis Karanis
Studies involving the biological and environmental isolation of Naegleria spp., Acanthamoeba spp., Balamuthia spp., Sappinia spp., and Vermamoeba spp., in the Republic of the Philippines, were searched systematically in PubMed and Google Scholar databases without years restriction. The search terms used to obtain the relevant studies were: ‘Acanthamoeba’, ‘Naegleria’, ‘Balamuthia’, ‘Sappinia’, ‘Vermamoeba’, and ‘Philippines’. To maximize the number of included studies and to prevent missing any relevant studies, the reference lists of included studies were searched for literature that can be included. This systematic review followed preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines [45].
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