Brief SummaryRead full entry Free-living Acanthamoeba species
are commonly found in lakes, swimming pools, tap water, and
heating and air conditioning units. Several Acanthamoeba species
are implicated in human disease, including A. astronyxis, A.
culbertsoni, A. polyphaga, A. castellanii, A. hatchetti, A.
rhysodes, A. divionensis, A. lugdunensis, and A. lenticulata (as
discussed by Kong , however, many aspects of species-level
Acanthamoeba taxonomy are not yet resolved). These are
opportunistic free-living amebae capable of causing
granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE), an extremely serious
disease of the central nervous system, in individuals with
compromised immune systems, as well as amebic keratitis, a
painful eye disease that can result in blindness. Although
Acanthamoeba infections are infrequent, they appear to occur
worldwide (Centers for Disease Control Parasites and Health
website; Marciano-Cabral and Cabral 2003 and references therein;
Schuster and Visvesvara 2004 and references therein) Acantha