Open AccessNaegleria fowleri from Pakistan Has Type-2 Genotype
Author(s) -
Muhammad Aurongzeb,
Yasmeen Rashid,
Syed Habib Ahmed Naqvi,
Ambrina Khatoon,
Sadia Abdul Haq,
M. Kamran Azim,
Imdad Kaleem,
Shahid Bashir
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
iranian journal of parasitology./iranian journal of parasitology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.477
H-Index - 27
eISSN - 2008-238X
pISSN - 1735-7020
DOI - 10.18502/ijpa.v17i1.9015
Subject(s) - naegleria fowleri , naegleria , genbank , phylogenetic tree , genotype , genotyping , amplicon , primer (cosmetics) , virology , meningoencephalitis , biology , veterinary medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , polymerase chain reaction , acanthamoeba , chemistry , genetics , gene , organic chemistry
Background: Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) is an acute and fulminant CNS infection caused by Naegleria fowleri. Recreational activities and ritual ablution with contaminated warm fresh water are the main reason of PAM. Pakistan ranked the second most affected country, where most of the PAM incidences were reported from Karachi, Pakistan.
Methods: In May, 2019, a 28-yr-old suspected PAM patient came to the Imam Zain-Ul-Abdin Hospital, Karachi. Biochemical and cytological investigations of patient`s CSF were carried out at Karachi Diagnostic Center and Molecular Biology Lab. Sequencing of Naegleria sp. specific (ITS) primer-based amplicons was performed from both patient`s CSF and water samples followed by multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic studies.
Results: Biochemical and cytological investigations of patient`s CSF showed 5 mg/dl glucose, 240 mg/dl total protein and 2260/mm3 TLC suggesting acute meningoencephalitis. PCR-based analyses of patient`s CSF and his residential tap water samples using Naegleria sp. specific (ITS) and N. fowleri specific primers revealed the presence of N. fowleri DNA. Nucleotide sequences of ITS primer-based amplicons from both patient`s CSF and water samples were submitted in GenBank under the accession numbers MT726981.1 and MT726226.1, respectively. According to phylogenetic analysis, N. fowleri isolate from Pakistan has shown the least node age of seven.
Conclusion: Here, for the very first time in Pakistan, N. fowleri genotype has been identified as type-2. Phylogenetic analysis showed that N. fowleri isolate from Pakistan is among the latest descendants, i.e., evolved later in life.