First time identification of Acanthamoeba genotypes in the cornea samples of wild birds; Is Acanthamoeba keratitis making the predatory birds a target?

• Published in: Experimental Parasitology
• Main Authors: Karakavuk, Muhammet, Aykur, Mehmet, Şahar, Esra Atalay, Karakuş, Mehmet, Döndüren, Ömer, Özdemir, Hüseyin Gökhan, Can, Hüseyin, Gürüz, Adnan Yüksel, Dağcı, Hande, Döşkaya, Mert
• Other Authors: Uludağ Üniversitesi/Veteriner Fakültesi/İç Hastalıkları Anabilim Dalı., Aldemir, Duygu, 57195380799
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2017
• Subjects: Parasitology; Acanthamoeba; Cornea; Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus); Keratitis; Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus); Wild birds; Confocal microscopy diagnosis; Noncontact lens wearers; Chain-reaction analysis; Canary-islands; Molecular characterization; Amebic keratitis; Human health; Pcr assay; Water; Spp; Acanthamoeba keratitis; Animals; wild; Bird diseases; Birds; DNA; protozoan; Genotype; Polymerase chain reaction; RNA; ribosomal; 18S; Turkey; Naegleria Fowleri; Central Nervous System Protozoal Infections; Protozoal DNA; RNA 18S; Animal; Bird; Bird disease; Chemistry; Classification; Genetics; Isolation and purification; Falco peregrinus; peregrine falcon
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11452/30764; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exppara.2017.08.007; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014489417303259

Acanthamoeba is a free-living amoeba which can be isolated from environment and among others well known as an opportunist protozoan parasite causing infections in humans and animals. Eyes are extremely important for the wild birds and losing sight ability due to Acanthamoeba can be dangerous. The studies on Acanthamoeba infection in wild birds is very few in world and Turkey therefore we aimed to screen deceased wild birds found in Izmir and Manisa provinces located in western Turkey using PCR and non-nutrition agar (NNA) plate method. Cornea samples were obtained from 18 deceased wild birds. During the external examination, signs of keratitis were observed in two Eurasian sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus). All of the corneal samples were analyzed by two PCR methods and NNA plate. According to results, the Acanthamoeba positivity in corneal samples was 16.6% and 5.5% by PCR and plate method, respectively. According to sequencing data, two of isolates belonged to genotype T5 and one was genotype T4. In conclusion, Acanthamoeba infection was detected in wild bird cornea samples with/without keratitis for the first time in the world. The result of this study also show that Acanthamoeba can be a cause of keratitis in wild birds of Turkey and thus these predator birds can be a target of other wild animals due to loss of sight ability. In terms of public health, these results show the importance of wild birds as a source of Acanthamoeba infection in nature. Ege Üniversitesi - 2014-TIP-073