Isolation, detection and genotyping of Acantamoeba spp. in surface waters of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province in 2016-2017

Members of the genus Acanthamoeba are free-living amoebae with a widespread distribution in environments, including surface waters and soil. Some of Acanthamoeba species are able to produce various human diseases such as Granulomatous Amoebic Encephalitis (GAE), keratitis, and skin lesions. Awareness of Acanthamoeba spp.distribution in environmental sources, particularly surface waters can provide valuable information for physicians and health experts. The aim of present study was to isolate, detect, and genotype of Acanthamoeba in surface waters. In this analytical and descriptive study one hundred and four water samples collected from different surface water resources of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province were studied by using culture, microscopy and the molecular methods, polymerase chain reaction, and sequencing. The data were analyzed by the SPSS ver. 20 software and the statistical tests, Fischer's exact test, McNemar and Chi- square. The values P<0.05 were considered significant. Although all of the samples had been grown on non-nutrient agar, the microscopic examinations and PCR revealed that only 63.46% and 22.1% of these Amoebae were Acanthamoebaspp., respectively. The Fischer's exact test showed that the frequency of Acanthamoeba was significantly different between districts (P=0.034). According to the
Chi-square test there was also a partial relationship between the frequency of Acanthamoeba in urban and rural areas (P=0.059).The sequencing of Acanthamoeba DNA showed that T2, T4, and T5 genotypes of the organism, were present in the samples and of these T4 genotype of Acanthamoebawas more prevalent. The present study indicates that different species and genotypes of Acanthamoba are present in surface waters of this area and respect to the potential hazard of Acanthamoeba spp. for human, particularly in immunedeficient patients, physicians should be aware of this potential environmental risk.