Systemic T17 infection in a free-ranging two-toed sloth: case report and literature review of infections by free-living amebas in mammals.

A free-ranging, adult female two-toed sloth () was brought to a wildlife rescue center in Costa Rica with ocular and auricular myiasis and numerous skin lesions. After one month of unsuccessful systemic and topical antimicrobial treatment, the patient died. A postmortem examination was performed, and tissues were examined histologically, confirming disseminated amebic infection with intralesional trophozoites and cysts in the lungs, liver, eye, heart, spleen, and stomach. Immunohistochemistry identified the ameba as sp. A multiplex real-time PCR assay, 18S ribosomal DNA PCR, and sequencing performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded lung tissue confirmed the T17 genotype. The genus is in the group of free-living amebas that cause infection in humans and animals, and it is ubiquitous in the environment. T17 has been isolated from water and soil, but to our knowledge, this genotype has not been implicated in infections of animals previously and has not been reported from Costa Rica. Systemic infection has not been described in sloths previously. We provide a comprehensive literature review describing infections by free-living amebas of the genus spp., spp., and spp. in domestic, zoo, and wild mammals.