Influence of salt and temperature in the growth of pathogenic free-living amoebae.

Introduction: Free-living amoebae are an extensive group of protistans that can be found in a wide variety of environments. Among them, the genus and stand out as two of the most pathogenic amoebae and with a higher number of reported cases. is mainly found in warm freshwater water bodies whereas amoebae of the genus are broadly distributed through natural and anthropogenic environments. In this regard, the management and the control of the amoebic populations in swimming pools has become a major public health challenge for institutions.

Methods: The aim of this work was to evaluate the growth pattern of trophozoites of and at different temperatures and salt concentrations.

Results And Discussion: Our results showed that resisted a higher concentration of salt than . Moreover, no trophozoites could withstand the salt levels of the sea in conditions. This work supports the contention that salinity could represent an important and useful tool for the control of the most pathogenic amoebic populations in recreational water bodies.