title: Prevalence of Acanthamoeba and superbugs in a clinical setting: coincidence or hyperparasitism?
abstract: Antibacterial strategies to eradicate superbugs from hospitals/nursing homes have had limited success, suggesting the need for employing innovative preventative measures and better understanding of the prevalence of microbial pathogens in close proximity of susceptible populations. A total of 120 environmental samples were collected from the Aga Khan University hospital. Amoebae were identified using morphological characteristics as well as PCR using genus-specific primers, while bacteria were identified using standard biochemical testing. Out of 120 samples tested, 52 (43.3 %) samples were positive for Acanthamoeba, while all 120 (100 %) samples were positive for bacteria. Following bacterial identification, samples showed mixed bacterial populations. Out of 120 samples, 76 (63.3 %) samples were positive for Bacillus spp., 64 (53.3 %) samples were positive for Corynebacterium spp., 32 (26.6 %) samples were positive for Staphylococcus spp., and 9 (7.5 %) samples were positive for Micrococcus spp. The antibiotic susceptibility showed that all bacterial isolates recovered were multiple drug-resistant. The current findings suggest that Acanthamoeba and bacteria coexist in a clinical environment. Given that Acanthamoeba can harbor bacteria, anti-amoebic approaches may represent a strategy in eradicating "superbugs" from the clinical setting in addition to the current measures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, Karachi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Ruqaiyyah
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Siddiqui
authors.forename: Mehwish
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sagheer
authors.forename: Naveed Ahmed
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Khan
mesh_terms: D000048:Acanthamoeba / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010154:Pakistan; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence