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Abstract
The genus Acanthamoeba represents free-living amoebae typically widespread in soil and water. It consists of more than 20 known species representing 15 genotypes of different pathogenicity and virulence. The aim of the study was the genotypic characterization of Acanthamoeba spp. isolated from human keratitis cases in Sweden. Thirteen amoeba isolates obtained from contact lens users with suspected Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) were subjected to polymerase chain reaction amplification and subsequent sequencing of the SSU rRNA gene fragment. Sequence analysis identified 4 different genotypes in the studied material. The majority of samples (92%) represented sequences of T3, T4 and T11, all belonging to a cluster of related genotypes frequently described in AK cases. Similar to other reports, genotype T4 was the most common finding in our material (77% of samples). Interestingly, an uncommon genotype, T15, mostly reported from environmental sources, was found in a sample from a patient suffering from a protracted keratitis.
Acknowledgements
Dr Håkan Miörner and Dr Elisabeth Holst, Department of Medical Microbiology, Lund University, Sweden are acknowledged for donating the strains BPHu12/91 and BPHu13/01 used in this study. Marianne Lebbad, Department of Parasitology, Mycology and Environmental Microbiology, Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, is acknowledged for her valuable help with the interpretation of results. The work was financially supported by the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, project number 317134.
Declaration of interest: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
