title: Isolation of acanthamoeba genotype t4 from a non-contact lens wearer from the Philippines.
abstract: We report the case of a 76-year old Filipino male who presented with pain, redness, and blurring of vision of the right eye. Corneal scraping was done and sent to the St. Luke's Research and Biotechnology Group for detection and identification of the infectious agent. Morphological detection was performed by allowing the organism from the scraping to grow in 1.5% non-nutrient agar plate with heat-killed E. coli. Trophozoites with acanthopodia and double-walled cysts characteristic of Acanthamoeba were observed within the first and second week of observations, respectively. Molecular identification of the amoebae at the genus level based on the presence of Acanthamoeba-specific amplimer S1, ASA.S1 confirmed the morphological identification. Genotyping through sequence revealed that the organism belonged to T4, which is the genotype commonly present in the eye of keratitis patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University , Nagasaki, Japan ; Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines , Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines ; Research and Biotechnology, St. Luke's Medical Center , 279 E. Rodriguez Blvd. Quezon City 1112, Philippines.
authors.forename: Corazon C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Buerano
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines , Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines.
authors.forename: Abigail D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Trinidad
authors.affiliation: Research and Biotechnology, St. Luke's Medical Center , 279 E. Rodriguez Blvd. Quezon City 1112, Philippines.
authors.forename: Lindsay Sydney N
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Fajardo
authors.affiliation: Eye Institute, St. Luke's Medical Center , 279 E. Rodriguez Blvd. Quezon City 1112, Philippines.
authors.forename: Irwin Y
authors.initials: IY
authors.lastname: Cua
authors.affiliation: Research and Biotechnology, St. Luke's Medical Center , 279 E. Rodriguez Blvd. Quezon City 1112, Philippines.
authors.forename: Michael O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Baclig
authors.affiliation: Research and Biotechnology, St. Luke's Medical Center , 279 E. Rodriguez Blvd. Quezon City 1112, Philippines.
authors.forename: Filipinas F
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Natividad
keywords: Acanthamoeba genotype T4; Philippines; non-contact lens wearer