Identification of Naegleria fowleri in Warm Ground Water Aquifers

Abstract

The free-living amoeba Naegleria fowleri was identified as the etiological agent of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis that caused the deaths of two children in Peoria, Arizona, in autumn of 2002. It was suspected that the source of N. fowleri was the domestic water supply, which originates from ground water sources. In this study, ground water from the greater Phoenix Metropolitan area was tested for the presence of N. fowleri using a nested polymerase chain reaction approach. Phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA sequences of bacterial populations in the ground water were performed to examine the potential link between the presence of N. fowleri and bacterial groups inhabiting water wells. The results showed the presence of N. fowleri in five out of six wells sampled and in 26.6% of all ground water samples tested. Phylogenetic analyses showed that beta- and gamma-proteobacteria were the dominant bacterial populations present in the ground water. Bacterial community analyses revealed a very diverse community structure in ground water samples testing positive for N. fowleri.

Naegleria fowleri: An emerging drinking water pathogen

“…N. australiensis isolates were the most plentiful among amoebae studied. In another study of groundwater wells in Arizona, Laseke et al (2010) detected N. fowleri in five out of six wells tested and in 27% of all water samples analyzed. Samples were analysed via nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR).…”

Improved Method for the Detection and Quantification ofNaegleria fowleriin Water and Sediment Using Immunomagnetic Separation and Real-Time PCR

“…The method cultures different volumes (usually serial dilutions) in 3–5 replicates each, consuming a lot of supplies and analyst time for reading all the plates, as well as requiring very specialized expertise. Since most species of Naegleria are morphologically indistinguishable, molecular methods are becoming rapidly more common as a means of detecting its presence [7, 10, 18–20]. …”

Distribution systems as reservoirs of Naegleria fowleri and other amoebae

“…Although N. fowleri-caused infections are extraordinarily rarefewer than 300 confirmed cases had been recorded as of 2008 (Caruzo & Cardozo, 2008)-they are also extraordinarily lethal, with an in-hospital case fatality rate of approximately 97% (Laseke et al, 2010;Blair et al, 2008;Caruzo & Cardozo, 2008;Visvesvara et al, 2007;Marciano-Cabral et al, 2003). Although N. fowleri-caused infections are extraordinarily rarefewer than 300 confirmed cases had been recorded as of 2008 (Caruzo & Cardozo, 2008)-they are also extraordinarily lethal, with an in-hospital case fatality rate of approximately 97% (Laseke et al, 2010;Blair et al, 2008;Caruzo & Cardozo, 2008;Visvesvara et al, 2007;Marciano-Cabral et al, 2003).…”

“…Distribution systems as reservoirs of Naegleria fowleri and other amoebae source was in Peoria, Ariz. (Laseke et al, 2010), when two young boys died in fall 2002. The families of both victims lived in an area served by a small water utility whose distribution system was later found to be contaminated with N. fowleri.…”

“…The families of both victims lived in an area served by a small water utility whose distribution system was later found to be contaminated with N. fowleri. In a separate study, Laseke et al (2010) identified N. fowleri in five of six wells sampled and in 27% of all groundwater samples collected from the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. Blair et al (2008) published a comprehensive study on the occurrence of Naegleria in Arizona's groundwater.…”