Isolation and identification of Acanthamoeba species from thermal spring environments in southern Taiwan.

Acanthamoeba species are free-living amoebae found in a range of environments. Within this genus, a number of species are recognized as human pathogens, potentially causing Acanthamoeba keratitis, granulomatous amoebic encephalitis, and chronic granulomatous lesions. In this study, 60 water samples were taken from four thermal spring recreation areas in southern Taiwan.

Comparison of potentially pathogenic free-living amoeba hosts by Legionella spp. in substrate-associated biofilms and floating biofilms from spring environments.

This study compares five genera of free-living amoebae (FLA) hosts by Legionella spp. in the fixed and floating biofilm samples from spring environments. Detection rate of Legionella spp.

Molecular detection and comparison of Acanthamoeba genotypes in different functions of watersheds in Taiwan.

The protistan genus Acanthamoeba is a free-living amoeba existing in various environments. Within this protistan genus, there are some species recognized as potential human pathogens, which may cause granulomatous amoebic encephalitis, Acanthamoeba keratitis and chronic granulomatous lesions of the skin. In this study, 211 water samples were collected from two watersheds in southern Taiwan.

Isolation and identification of Legionella and their host amoebae from weak alkaline carbonate spring water using a culture method combined with PCR.

Legionella were detected with the direct DNA extraction method, Legionella culture method, and free-living amoebae (FLA) culture method from weak alkaline carbonate spring water in Taiwan. Moreover, we also investigated the existence of Acanthamoeba, Hartmannella, and Naegleria, ubiquitous FLA in aquatic environments, to identify the correlations between existing Legionella. This study reports detecting Legionella in 15 of the 51 weak alkaline carbonate spring water samples (29.