Free-living amoebae in the water resources of Iran: a systematic review

Abstract

Free-living amoebae (FLA) are a group of protozoa with the capabilities of growth in the environment and invasion to the human body which have been isolated from different water sources. ,, and are the most important FLA. These cause a variety of severe complications of eye and central nervous system. Despite the fact that various studies have demonstrated the prevalence of FLA in different parts of Iran, there is no comprehensive evaluation and conclusion regarding the pollution of various water sources in Iran. This review was carried out to achieve the prevalence pattern of FLA in water resources across Iran to design appropriate health strategies. For this purpose, 8 online databases in English and Persian and also graduate thesis and national parasitology congresses were studied. The key words such as "water resources", "water" and "Iran" were used to search articles between 1990 to 2017. From a total of 236 articles found, 38 reliable articles were included in the study. From the total number of investigated studies, the estimated prevalence was obtained as 36% among 2430 samples. Although prevalence has been considered as a priority, most kinds of free-living amoebae were found in all kinds of water resources. Due to the lack of free-living amoebae prevalence in more than a quarter of the Iranian provinces, more studies are recommended to achieve a better perspective to make comprehensive decisions to improve the hygiene of water resources.

Adaption of microbial communities to the hostile environment in the Doce River after the collapse of two iron ore tailing dams

“…Microenvironment differences in microbiota modulation were more evident on the supergroup Amoebozoa. They are a highly diverse group of phagotrophic protists that includes species characterized as free-living amoeba (FLA) ( Saburi et al., 2017 ). The life forms of these microorganisms include cysts ( Sriram et al., 2008 ), which are resistance forms that favor dispersion and its perpetuation in singular environments.…”

Isolation and Genotyping of Acanthamoeba from Soil Samples in Markazi Province, Iran

“…In the majority of these reports, the most prevalent Acanthamoeba genotype was T4 in water sources, comprising 62.96%, 91.7%, 83.3%, and 71.6% of water source samples from Shiraz [8], Tehran [30], Mazandaran [31], and Ahvaz [5], respectively. Also, the results of a systematic review showed that Acanthamoeba genotypes T4, T5, and T2 comprised 39%, 17%, and 16% of Acanthamoeba in water sources of Iran, respectively [32].…”

Microbial Contamination of Rubber Ducks Floating in Bathtubs of Bathing Facilities, and an Evaluation of Their Washing Methods

“…To our knowledge, there are no reports of microbial contamination of toys, including rubber ducks, used in bathing facilities in Japan, though the bathing is very common among the Japanese. Free-living amoebae are widely distributed in the aquatic environment and have been isolated from bathtub water, drinking water, and river water (Zbikowska et al 2013, Shaheen et al 2019, Saburi et al, 2017, Edagawa et al 2009) . Free-living amoebae serve as hosts for bacteria such as Legionella, Escherichia coli, Mycobacterium avium and P. aeruginosa, provide a breeding ground for a variety of bacteria (Greub et al, 2004) , and are frequently detected in biofilms in the environment (Shaheen et al, 2019, Taravaud et al, 2018 .…”