occurrence of thermotolerant hartmannella vermiformis and naegleria spp. in hot springs of ardebil province, northwest iran

background: geothermal waters could be suitable niches for thermophilic free living amoebae includ­ing naegleria and hartmannella . ardebil province, northwest iran is popular for having many hot springs for recreational and health purposes activity. the present research is the first molecular based investigation regarding the presence of naegleria and hartmannella in the hot springs of ardebil province in iran. methods : overall, 30 water samples were taken from waters of thermal hot springs in ardebil prov­ince, iran during 2010-2011. all collected samples were transferred to dept. of parasitology and mycol­ogy, shahid beheshti university of medical sciences, tehran, iran. cultivation of concentrated wa­ter samples was performed using culture-enrichment method. cloning of the target amoebae was ob­tained and morphological and molecular analysis was done using page key combined with two sets of primers, respectively. sequence analysis and homology search was used for strains identification. results : of 30 water samples, 8 (26.7%) were positive for thermotolerant vahlkampfiids and hartman­nella based on morphological characteristics of vegetative form and double walled cysts. clon­ing of the target amoebae were done successfully. sequencing of the positive isolates revealed that the strains belonged to naegleria ( n. carteri and n. spp ) and h. vermiformis . conclusion : the result highlights a need for improved filtration and disinfection and periodic monitor­ing of recreational thermal waters in order to prevent disease related to free- living amoebae. this is the first comprehensive molecular study of thermophilic naegleria and hartmannella in hot springs of iran.