<i>Acanthamoeba polyphaga</i>, a potential environmental vector for the transmission of food‐borne and opportunistic pathogens

Anacarso, Immacolata; Niederhäusern, Simona De; Messi, Patrizia; Guerrieri, Elisa; Iseppi, Ramona; Sabia, Carla; Bondi, Moreno

doi:10.1002/jobm.201100097

Cited by 29 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Survival and growth of S. aureus in Acanthamoeba spp. (Anacarso et al, 2012;Cardas et al, 2012;Huws et al, 2006) and H. vermiformis (Pickup et al, 2007), both organisms present on dishcloths, was observed. Campylobacter spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Co-occurrence of free-living protozoa and foodborne pathogens on dishcloths: Implications for food safety

Chavatte

Baré

Lambrecht

et al. 2014

International Journal of Food Microbiology

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In the present study, the occurrence of free-living protozoa (FLP) and foodborne bacterial pathogens on dishcloths was investigated. Dishcloths form a potentially important source of cross-contamination with FLP and foodborne pathogens in food-related environments. First various protocols for recovering and quantifying FLP from dishcloths were assessed. The stomacher technique is recommended to recover flagellates and amoebae from dishcloths. Ciliates, however, were more efficiently recovered using centrifugation. For enumeration of freeliving protozoa on dishcloths, the Most Probable Number method is a convenient method. Enrichment was used to assess FLP diversity on dishcloths (n = 38). FLP were found on 89% of the examined dishcloths; 100% of these tested positive for amoebae, 71% for flagellates and 47% for ciliates. Diversity was dominated by amoebae: vahlkampfiids, vannellids, Acanthamoeba spp., Hyperamoeba sp. and Vermamoeba vermiformis were most common. The ciliate genus Colpoda was especially abundant on dishcloths while heterotrophic nanoflagellates mainly belonged to the genus Bodo, the glissomonads and cercomonads. The total number of FLP in used dishcloths ranged from 10 to 10 4 MPN/cm 2 . Flagellates were the most abundant group, and ciliates the least abundant. Detergent use was identified as a prime determinant of FLP concentrations on used dishcloths. Bacterial load on dishcloths was high, with a mean total of aerobic bacteria of 7.47 log 10 cfu/cm 2 . Escherichia coli was detected in 68% (26/38) of the used dishcloths, with concentrations up to 4 log 10 cfu/cm 2 . Foodborne pathogens including Staphylococcus aureus (19/38), Arcobacter butzleri (5/38) and Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica ser. Halle (1/38) were also present. This study showed for the first time that FLP, including some opportunistic pathogens, are a common and diverse group on dishcloths. Moreover, important foodborne pathogens are also regularly recovered. This simultaneous occurrence makes dishcloths a potential risk factor for cross-contamination and a microbial niche for bacteria-FLP interactions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Co-occurrence of free-living protozoa and foodborne pathogens on dishcloths: Implications for food safety

Chavatte

Baré

Lambrecht

et al. 2014

International Journal of Food Microbiology

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“…Two Acanthamoeba species were chosen based on previous studies. A. castellanii is reported to have interactions with nonenveloped viruses (human enteroviruses and adenoviruses) of significance to public health (25,30,31), while both A. castellanii and A. polyphaga play a role in many interactions between acanthamoebae and food-borne bacteria (26)(27)(28).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bacteria implicated in food-borne disease outbreaks that have been reported to interact with Acanthamoeba include enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (27), Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica, Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium botulinum, and Campylobacter jejuni (26,28,29). Studies involving Acanthamoeba interactions with viruses are much more limited, including poliovirus, echoviruses 4 and 30 (30), adenoviruses 11 and 41 (31), and coxsackievirus B3 (25).…”

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confidence: 99%

Interactions between Human Norovirus Surrogates and Acanthamoeba spp

Hsueh

Gibson

2015

Appl Environ Microbiol

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Human noroviruses (HuNoVs) are the most common cause of food-borne disease outbreaks, as well as virus-related waterborne disease outbreaks in the United States. Here, we hypothesize that common free-living amoebae (FLA)-ubiquitous in the environment, known to interact with pathogens, and frequently isolated from water and fresh produce-could potentially act as reservoirs of HuNoV and facilitate the environmental transmission of HuNoVs. To investigate FLA as reservoirs for HuNoV, the interactions between two Acanthamoeba species, A. castellanii and A. polyphaga, as well as two HuNoV surrogates, murine norovirus type 1 (MNV-1) and feline calicivirus (FCV), were evaluated. The results showed that after 1 h of amoeba-virus incubation at 25°C, 490 and 337 PFU of MNV-1/ml were recovered from A. castellanii and A. polyphaga, respectively, while only few or no FCVs were detected. In addition, prolonged interaction of MNV-1 with amoebae was investigated for a period of 8 days, and MNV-1 was demonstrated to remain stable at around 200 PFU/ml from day 2 to day 8 after virus inoculation in A. castellanii. Moreover, after a complete amoeba life cycle (i.e., encystment and excystment), infectious viruses could still be detected. To determine the location of virus associated with amoebae, immunofluorescence experiments were performed and showed MNV-1 transitioning from the amoeba surface to inside the amoeba over a 24-h period. These results are significant to the understanding of how HuNoVs may interact with other microorganisms in the environment in order to aid in its persistence and survival, as well as potential transmission in water and to vulnerable food products such as fresh produce.N oroviruses belong to a highly genetically and antigenically diverse genus Norovirus of the Caliciviridae family. Noroviruses are divided into five genogroups (GI, GII, GIII, GIV, and GV) according to the genetic similarity of highly conserved areas of their genomes, such as the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and the VP1 protein (1), with GI, GII, and GIV associated with human diseases. They are important enteric pathogens responsible for at least 50% of all gastroenteritis outbreaks worldwide (2) and, partially due to their high infectivity and low infectious dose (18 to 1,000 virus particles) (3), human noroviruses (HuNoVs) are the most common cause of food-borne disease outbreaks in the United States (4).Transmission of HuNoV occurs primarily through exposure to contaminated food or water, person-to-person contact, aerosolized particles from vomitus, and contact with contaminated fomites (e.g., door handles, toilets, tables, and elevator buttons) (5). Numerous waterborne disease outbreaks have been linked to HuNoV (6-9), and HuNoVs are often detected in surface water (10), wastewater (11), and even finished drinking water (12). With respect to food-borne disease outbreaks, the most common food commodity implicated in HuNoV outbreaks is fresh produce, specifically leafy greens (13); however, the route of transmission and point of contami...

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“…Many wellknown pathogens of humans are able to infect, survive, and multiply within phagocytosis vacuoles Horn and Wagner, 2004). FLA serve as reservoirs and vectors for the transmission of pathogenic bacteria to humans or animals (Lorenzo-Morales et al, 2007;Thomas and Greub 2010;Anacarso et al, 2012;Mella et al, 2016). Several publications appeared in recent years documenting that amoeba can serve as a genetic "melting pot" where gene exchanges occur.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between Free-Living Amoeba and their Intracellular Bacteria

Rubeniņa

Kirjušina

Bērziņš

et al. 2017

Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. Section B. Natural, Exact, and Applied Sciences.

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An increasing number of bacteria have been described as benefiting from interaction with free-living amoeba. The most common association between free-living amoeba and microorganisms is interaction of various non-pathogenic and pathogenic bacterial species with amoeba. Various pathogenic bacterial species have capacity to resist digestion by free-living amoeba, which has been observed by many researchers. Also, several of these pathogens are able to resist digestion by macrophages. In addition, free-living amoeba have been associated with several diseases in humans. Acanthamniioeba castella is an important predator of bacteria. It is a ubiquitous organism in water, soil, and air. Attention from a public health perspective is needed by investigation of interaction of foodborne pathogens and free-living amoeba. Bacteria can use free-living amoeba as reservoirs, mediators or vehicles, an infection route, “biological gym” and evolutionary crib or interaction may result in a close endosymbiotic relationship. The purpose of this review is to describe the interaction mechanisms between free-living amoeba and common bacteria species that survive in host cells.

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Acanthamoeba polyphaga, a potential environmental vector for the transmission of food‐borne and opportunistic pathogens

Cited by 29 publications

References 51 publications

Co-occurrence of free-living protozoa and foodborne pathogens on dishcloths: Implications for food safety

Co-occurrence of free-living protozoa and foodborne pathogens on dishcloths: Implications for food safety

Interactions between Human Norovirus Surrogates and Acanthamoeba spp

Relationships between Free-Living Amoeba and their Intracellular Bacteria

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