Acanthamoeba spp. in Dialysis Water: Assessing the Potential Risk of Transmission to Hemodialysis Patients

IF 1.2 3区农林科学 Q4 PARASITOLOGY Acta Parasitologica Pub Date : 2025-02-07 DOI:10.1007/s11686-025-00992-6

Mona Mohamed Tolba, Heba Elhadad, Shaban Hassan Abu Kabsha, Nesma Seyam El-Kady, Safia Saleh Khalil, Amira Hussein Mohamed, Hend Aly El-Taweel

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Abstract

Purpose

Acanthamoeba spp. can colonize various freshwater habitats. They are the causative agents of granulomatous amoebic encephalitis and can harbor many microorganisms. We studied the presence of Acanthamoeba spp. in the water system of a hemodialysis unit and assessed the potential for transmission to hemodialysis patients.

Methods

Water samples collected from pretreatment and posttreatment water of the treatment station and from input and output water of the dialysis machines were cultured on non-nutrient agar supplemented with Escherichia coli. Blood samples from dialysis patients in the unit and from a control group in the same hospital were tested for anti-Acanthamoeba IgG antibodies.

Results

Acanthamoeba spp. were found in posttreatment water. They were more commonly found in the input water samples (79.2%), than in the output water samples (16.7%) (p = 0.001). Anti-Acanthamoeba IgG antibodies were present in 32.9% of patients and were absent in the control group (p = 0.002). The duration of hemodialysis was significantly longer in seropositive patients than in seronegative patients (p = 0.008).

Conclusion

The study highlights the presence of Acanthamoeba spp. in the dialysis system. The relatively high prevalence of anti-Acanthamoeba IgG antibodies and the link between dialysis duration and seropositivity emphasize the importance of rigorous water monitoring.

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目的：阿米巴原虫可在各种淡水生境中定植。它们是肉芽肿阿米巴脑炎的病原体，并能滋生多种微生物。我们研究了血液透析装置水系统中是否存在阿卡阿米巴属，并评估了传播给血液透析患者的可能性。方法将从处理站预处理和后处理水以及透析机输入和输出水中采集的水样在添加了大肠杆菌的非营养琼脂上进行培养。对该单位透析患者和同一医院对照组透析患者的血样进行了抗阿卡他米巴 IgG 抗体检测。在输入水样本中（79.2%），它们比在输出水样本中（16.7%）更常见（p = 0.001）。32.9%的患者体内有抗阿卡他米巴IgG抗体，而对照组则没有（p = 0.002）。血清阳性患者的血液透析持续时间明显长于血清阴性患者（p = 0.008）。抗阿卡阿米巴 IgG 抗体的相对高流行率以及透析时间与血清阳性之间的联系强调了严格水监测的重要性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Acta Parasitologica 医学-寄生虫学

CiteScore

3.10

自引率

6.70%

发文量

149

审稿时长

6-12 weeks

期刊介绍： Acta Parasitologica is an international journal covering the latest advances in the subject. Acta Parasitologica publishes original papers on all aspects of parasitology and host-parasite relationships, including the latest discoveries in biochemical and molecular biology of parasites, their physiology, morphology, taxonomy and ecology, as well as original research papers on immunology, pathology, and epidemiology of parasitic diseases in the context of medical, veterinary and biological sciences. The journal also publishes short research notes, invited review articles, book reviews. The journal was founded in 1953 as "Acta Parasitologica Polonica" by the Polish Parasitological Society and since 1954 has been published by W. Stefanski Institute of Parasitology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. Since 1992 in has appeared as Acta Parasitologica in four issues per year.