Free-Living Amoebae and Associated Drug-Resistant Bacteria in Surface Waters: A Public Health Concern?

Muchesa, P.; Bartie, Catheleen; Barnard, T.G.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-29061-0_9

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 93 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…There, the endosymbiont bacteria carried by amoebae can be released and colonize the water system, posing a health threat to exposed individuals. If additional FLA-ineffective treatments are included downstream, such as chlorination at swimming pools, the most resistant strains will be selected and will colonize the water system (as P31 FLA), making future efficient disinfection extremely difficult and leading to possible recurrent outbreaks of, e.g., Legionella pneumophila [13] or antibiotic-resistant bacteria [23]. If FLA-efficient disinfection treatments were established at water treatment plants, FLA populations in human-made water systems could be reduced.…”

Section: 4mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Chlorine Photolysis: A Step Forward in Inactivating Acanthamoeba and Their Endosymbiont Bacteria

Menacho,

Soler,

Chueca

et al. 2024

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Chlorine and solar disinfection are widely used disinfectants in water treatment. However, certain potential pathogens can resist these methods, posing a public health risk. One such case is Acanthamoeba, a resistant free-living amoeba that protects pathogens inside from disinfection, thus endangering the health of water users. This work is the first evaluation of the inactivation efficiency achieved by combining NaClO (Cl2) and solar radiation (SR) against two Acanthamoeba strains from different sources (freshwater and pool water) and their endosymbiont bacteria (EB). Amoebae were exposed to different Cl2 doses (0–500 mg/L), SR wavelength ranges (280–800 nm and 320–800 nm), used as gold standards, and their combinations. The EB exhibited resistance to conventional Cl2 and SR treatments, requiring up to 20 times higher disinfectant doses than those needed to inactivate their protective Acanthamoeba. The pool strain and its EB demonstrated greater resistance to all treatments compared to the freshwater strain. Treatments with Cl2 (5 mg/L)/SR280–800nm completely inactivated both Acanthamoeba and EB of the freshwater strain, reducing up to 100 times the necessary Cl2 doses, suggesting that chlorine photolysis is an attractive treatment for disinfecting freshwater and preventing waterborne diseases associated with Acanthamoebae and its EB.

show abstract

Section: 4mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The potentially pathogenic bacteria carried by FLA are frequently more worrying than the amoeba itself, and may become more virulent during intra-amoebal life [6]. Additionally, FLA can transport antibiotic-resistant bacteria [23]. Thus, focusing disinfection research on these protected and hidden microorganisms becomes crucial.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%