International Journal of Environmental Science and Development

Abstract—Acanthamoeba is one kind of free-living amoebae (FLA) which ubiquitous in various aquatic environments. Several Acanthamoeba species are pathogenic and host other pathogens such as Legionella, but the presence of Acanthamoeba and its parasites as well as the related infection risk are not well known. In this study, the surveillance and evaluation of the infection risk of Acanthamoeba in different aquatic environments was investigated. Water samples were collected from a river, intake areas of drinking water treatment plants, and recreational hot spring complexes in Taiwan. A total of 140 water samples were tested for the presence of Acanthamoeba spp.. In addition, phylogenetic characteristics and water quality parameters were also assessed. The pathogenic genotypes of Acanthamoeba T4 were abundant in the hot spring water. Taken together, Acanthamoeba contamination in recreational hot springs and drinking water source warrants more attention on potential legionellosis and amoebae infections.

Index Terms—Acanthamoeba, legionella, pathogenic, hot spring, aquatic environments.

Bing-Mu Hsu is with the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan (e-mail: bmhsu168@gmail.com).

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Cite: Bing-Mu Hsu, "Surveillance and Evaluation of the Infection Risk of Free-Living Amoebae — Acanthamoeba in Aquatic Environments," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 7, no. 6, pp. 445-448, 2016.