Acanthamoeba is a ubiquitous free-living organism found world-wide and lives in diverse environmental niches including soil, waste dumps, cooling towers of air conditioning systems, humidifiers, aquaria, dialysis machines, dental equipment, as well as bottled tap, and sea waters. Additionally, they have been isolated from the nasal secretions of healthy individuals, including children, students, and military recruits indicating that subclinical infections might be commonThe life cycle of Acanthamoeba includes an active trophozoite stage in which it feeds on bacteria, and a dormant cyst which forms when environmental conditions become harsh. The cyst has a protective double wall that is resistant to chemicals and therapeutic drugs . Acanthamoeba causes two significant clinical infections: amoebic keratitis in immunocompetent contact lens wearers and granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE) in immune suppressed people. Amoebic keratitis is a painful eye infection in which the amoebic organisms directly penetrate the ocular tissues and has been associated with soft
contact lenses. Acanthamoebic GAE is a progressive disease of the central nervous system
and occurs principally in immunocompromised patients. The route into the central nervous system appears to be from the skin (cutaneous Acanthamoebiasis), naropharynx or lungs after which it disseminates hematogenously. GAE has been an infection of increasing importance in
the literature, particularly in organ transplant patients as well as patients with AIDS or those taking immunosuppressant medications.
(Andrea DâAuria, Jamie Lin, P. Jan Geiseler, Yvonne Qvarnstrom, Rebecca Bandea, Sharon Roy,
Rama Sriram, Christopher Paddock, Sherif Zaki, Gene Kim and Govinda S. Visvesvara: Cutaneous Acanthamoebiasis with CNS Involvement Post- Transplantation: Implication for Differential Diagnosis of Skin Lesions in Immunocompromised Patients)
Last date updated on May, 2024
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