Authors

Discussion

Background: Acanthamoeba is a genus of free-living amoebae that opportunistically infect humans, most commonly as an infection of the cornea known as Acanthamoeba Keratitis (AK). AK is a very painful and destructive infection that, if untreated or insufficiently treated can cause total blindness in one or both of a patient’s eyes. AK is difficult to treat because of the environmentally resistant cyst stage of its life cycle, which is also more tolerant to drug treatment.

Aims: To characterise the Acanthamoebae isolated from AK infections using currently accepted and widely used microscopy and molecular methods. Including ASA.S1-fragment 18s RDNA based genotyping and riboprinting. The hopeful outcome of this work and planned further work, including whole genome sequencing, is to assess whether the clinical position of there being no difference in treatment success between AK cases due to causative species is still correct if, (potentially) more precise sub-genus diagnostics were available.

Methods: Sub-genus level diagnosis of AK cases 2019-2021 using multiple methods,18s RDNA PCR and subsequent RFLP of the gene & Sanger sequencing of ASA.S1 fragment. As well as using the Page 1988 dichotomous key with Inverted microscopy of acanthamoeba cysts.