The Effect of Different Environmental Conditions on the Viability of Naegleria fowleri Amoebae

Naegleria fowleri, a free‐living amoeba found in soil and freshwater environments, is the causative agent of Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis. Infection occurs when amoebae enter the nasal cavity, attach to the nasal mucosa and travel along olfactory neurons towards the olfactory bulb. Upon reach...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of eukaryotic microbiology 2019-09, Vol.66 (5), p.752-756
Main Authors: Lam, Charlton, He, Li, Marciano‐Cabral, Francine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Central nervous system
Environmental conditions
Environmental effects
Free‐living amoeba
Freshwater
Freshwater environments
Inland water environment
Meningoencephalitis
Mucosa
Naegleria fowleri
Nose
Olfaction
Olfactory bulb
Olfactory neurons
pH effects
Primary amebic meningoencephalitis
Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis
Salinity
Salinity effects
Soil
Survival
temperature
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Naegleria fowleri, a free‐living amoeba found in soil and freshwater environments, is the causative agent of Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis. Infection occurs when amoebae enter the nasal cavity, attach to the nasal mucosa and travel along olfactory neurons towards the olfactory bulb. Upon reaching the central nervous system, the amoebae replicate very rapidly and can cause death in 3–10 days. Little is known about the conditions in which the amoeba can survive in the environment. We have tested conditions beyond the known boundaries on the viability of amoebae by introducing them into moderate and extreme salinity, pH, and temperatures. Our data shows that although viability expectedly decreases towards each of these extreme conditions, their tolerance was much greater than anticipated, including viability in moderate salinity, a wide pH range, and temperatures higher than the previously reported 45 °C.
ISSN:1066-5234
1550-7408
DOI:10.1111/jeu.12719