To the Editor: Free-living amebae are ubiquitous protists able to endure extreme temperature and pH in diverse environments (1). In past decades, interest in them increased as causes of infections, such as keratitis (2) and granulomatous encephalitis (3). Acanthamoeba spp. can harbor pathogenic microorganisms as endosymbionts, such as bacteria (e.g., Legionella spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and...

Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is a rare but sight-threatening disease caused by pathogenic species of Acanthamoeba. Despite its ubiquitous nature, the incidence of AK is relatively low compared to other forms of infectious keratitis. Although contact lens wear is a major risk factor, exposure to contaminated water and ocular trauma are also associated with AK. Once a patient develops AK the progn...

BACKGROUND Acanthamoeba is a rare cause of encephalitis yet is associated with high mortality. Treatment protocols vary greatly and generally include combination therapy across a wide spectrum of antiinfective classes. CASE DESCRIPTION A 63-year-old male who underwent renal transplantation presented 6 months after transplantation with depressed level of consciousness. Imaging of the head with...

Prolonged culturing of many microorganisms leads to the loss of virulence and a reduction of their infective capacity. However, little is known about the changes in the pathogenic strains of Acanthamoeba after long culture periods. Our study evaluated the effect of prolonged culturing on the invasiveness of different isolates of Acanthamoeba in an in vivo rat model. ATCC strains of Acanthamoeba...

Acanthamoeba species are known to cause 2 well-described entities: (1) granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE), which usually affects immunocompromised hosts, and (2) keratitis, which typically follows trauma associated with contamination of water or contact lenses. Less common manifestations include pneumonitis and a subacute granulomatous dermatitis. We describe a case of granulomatous derma...

Background: Acanthamoeba is a free living ubiquitous protozoa, capable of causing Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) of eyes and Acanthamoeba meningitis/ meningoencephalitis (AME) of central nervous system in human. Identification of amoeba is possible by a light microscope but, due to its poor resolution power, it is insufficient to distinguish the intimate sub cellular structures. As the resolution ...

Acanthamoeba keratitis is a sight-threatening corneal infection. In a recent study, the saccharide mannose has been shown to inhibit the binding of Acanthamoeba organisms to the epithelium of the cornea (L. D. Morton, G. L. McLaughlin, and H. E. Whiteley, Infect. Immun. 59:3819-3822, 1991). In an attempt to determine the molecular mechanism by which acanthamoebae adhere to the surface of the co...

Tests for potentially pathogenic amoebae were carried out in order to determine the presence of free-living amoebae of genus Acanthamoeba in soil and beach sand sources related to human environments in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. Acanthamoeba identification was based on the morphology of cyst and trophozoite forms and PCR amplification with a genus specific primer pair. The pathogenical po...

Acanthamoeba is an opportunistic protist pathogen that is ubiquitously distributed in the environment. It is known to produce a sight-threatening, extremely painful keratitis and granulomatous encephalitis [1-4]. Acanthamoeba encephalitis is a fatal brain infection with a case fatality of more than 90%, despite advances in antimicrobial chemotherapy and supportive care. This is partly due to ou...