Isolation, identification and biological characterization of Acanthamoeba polyphaga from suspected cases of eye patients and its electron microscopy

Abstract

Corneal scrapings and tear drop of 90 patients with suspected cases of keratitis and eye infection attending the Govt. Hospital and rural areas patients of Lucknow city were screened for amoebic pathogens including Acanthamoeba. Of these, 6 (6.66percent) were positive for Acanthamoeba, which fulfilled the criteria for suspecting Acanthamoeba keratitis. These were distributed among all ages with the maximum numbers in the 20-45 year age group. None of the patients were using contact lenses and were mostly agricultural labourers and had recent history of swimming in ponds and river and also associated with water sports. The predisposing factor found in this study was trauma of varying degrees. The result of present study confirmed that Amphizoic amoebae colonized almost every conceivable aquatic habitat. This is alarming signal that shows presence of Amphizoic amoebae. Incidences of infection during warm season have been traced in patients suffering from eye infection. Preventive measures include public awareness and maintenance of water body and adequate chlorination.