{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,3]],"date-time":"2026-10-03T20:21:08Z","timestamp":1791058868233,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"Scientific Scholar","content-domain":{"domain":["ijmr.org.in"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Indian J Med Res"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background and objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      <jats:italic>Acanthamoeba<\/jats:italic>\n                      spp. are free-living amoebae causing rare but frequently fatal, granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE). Understanding their genotypic distribution is essential for defining epidemiology and identifying environmental sources. This study investigated\n                      <jats:italic>Acanthamoeba<\/jats:italic>\n                      in clinically suspected cases of GAE and in environmental water sources across India.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A total of 125 clinical specimens from patients with suspected GAE [cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), brain biopsy tissue, or pus] and 14 environmental water samples (pond, well, and household water) were analyzed between April 2023 and August 2025. Microscopic examination of samples and culture on non-nutrient agar overlaid with\n                      <jats:italic>Escherichia coli<\/jats:italic>\n                      was done. Centrifuged water pellets were processed similarly. DNA extraction and polymerase chain reaction assay (PCR) targeting the\n                      <jats:italic>Acanthamoeba<\/jats:italic>\n                      spp. diagnostic fragment were performed, followed by sequencing for genotype identification.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Eighteen (14.4%) clinical samples were\n                      <jats:italic>Acanthamoeba-<\/jats:italic>\n                      PCR positive, with seven yielding positive cultures. These included samples from Kerala (n=9), Karnataka (n=4), Himachal Pradesh (n=2), and one each from Delhi, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh. Seven (50%) water samples were\n                      <jats:italic>Acanthamoeba-<\/jats:italic>\n                      PCR positive (Kerala, n=4, and West Bengal, n=3), of which two were culture-positive. Genotyping of 12 clinical and four environmental samples revealed that all isolates belonged to genotype T4, except for one T3 CSF-derived isolate from Karnataka.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Interpretation and conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The predominance of\n                      <jats:italic>Acanthamoeba<\/jats:italic>\n                      genotype T4 across clinical and environmental samples mirrors global trends and suggests enhanced pathogenic potential and ecological adaptability of this genotype. The detection of environmental genotypes underscores the importance of systematic environmental surveillance in elucidating transmission pathways more effectively.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.25259\/ijmr_3314_2025","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T12:09:45Z","timestamp":1782907785000},"page":"114-119","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.25259\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Molecular epidemiology of\n                    <i>Acanthamoeba<\/i>\n                    in human infections and environmental reservoirs in India"],"prefix":"10.25259","volume":"164","author":[{"given":"Sumeeta","family":"Khurana","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Parasitology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shreya","family":"Singh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Parasitology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shivani","family":"Rathor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Parasitology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Parveen","family":"Tanwar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Parasitology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anitha P.","family":"Moorkoth","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Government Medical College, Kozhikode, Kerala, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shameer","family":"V.K.","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Government Medical College, Kozhikode, Kerala, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pressy","family":"Sankar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Government Medical College, Kozhikode, Kerala, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bindu","family":"V.","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Kozhikode, Kerala, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nitin","family":"Gupta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kokila","family":"Banerjee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Drs. 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