Genotypic diversity of Acanthamoeba strains isolated from Chilean patients with Acanthamoeba keratitis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Acanthamoeba spp. are the causative agents of a severe keratitis occurring mainly in contact lens wearers. The genus comprises more than 24 species that are currently divided into 20 different genotypes (T1-T20) according to sequence variations in the 18S rRNA gene. The objective of this study was to identify the genotypes and sub-genotypes of Acanthamoeba isolates collected at the Parasitology Laboratory of the Public Health Institute of Chile, the only laboratory in the country where Acanthamoeba screening is performed. This is the first report of genotypic identification of clinical isolates of Acanthamoeba in Chile and one of the few in South America.

Results

In this study, 114 Acanthamoeba isolates from 76 Acanthamoeba keratitis patients, obtained between 200

SUBMITTER: Jercic MI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6346584 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature