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Acanthamoeba Belonging to T3, T4, and T11: Genotypes Isolated from Air‐Conditioning Units in S antiago, C hile
Author(s) -
Astorga Berbeli,
LorenzoMorales Jacob,
MartínNavarro Carmen M,
Alarcón Verónica,
Moreno Johanna,
González Ana C.,
Navarrete Elizabeth,
Piñero José E.,
Valladares Basilio
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of eukaryotic microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.067
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1550-7408
pISSN - 1066-5234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.2011.00584.x
Subject(s) - biology , genotype , conditioning , pathogen , acanthamoeba , air conditioning , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , genetics , statistics , physics , mathematics , thermodynamics
Free‐living amoebae ( FLA ) of the genus A canthamoeba are widely distributed in the environment, in the air, soil, and water, and have also been isolated from air‐conditioning units. The objective of this work was to investigate the presence of this genus of FLA in the air‐conditioning equipment at the I nstitute of P ublic H ealth of C hile in S antiago, C hile. Water and air samples were collected from air‐conditioning systems and were checked for the presence of A canthamoeba spp. Positive samples were further classified at the genotype level after sequencing the highly variable diagnostic fragment 3 ( DF 3) region of the 18S rRNA gene. This is the first report of the T3, T4, and T11 genotypes of A canthamoeba in air‐conditioning units from C hile. Overall, the widespread distribution of potentially pathogenic A canthamoeba strains in the studied source demands more awareness within the public and health professionals in C hile as this pathogen is emerging as a risk for human health worldwide.