title: Identification of Entamoeba moshkovskii in Treated Waste Water Used for Agriculture.
abstract: We conducted an observational study to determine the prevalence of Entamoeba spp., in samples collected in a waste water treatment plant that provides water for agricultural irrigation. Samples were collected weekly over a period of 10 weeks at representative contamination stages from within the treatment plant. Protozoan identification was performed via light microscopy and culture. PCR amplification of small subunit rRNA gene sequences of E. histolytica/dispar/moshkovskii was performed in culture positive samples. Light microscopy revealed the presence of Entamoeba spp., in 70% (14/20) of the raw waste water samples and in 80% (8/10) of the treated water samples. PCR amplification after culture at both 24 and 37°C revealed that 100% (29/29) of the raw waste water samples and 78.6% (11/14) of the treated waste water were positive for E. moshkovskii. We report the first isolation of E. moshkovskii in Colombia, confirmed by PCR. Recent reports of E. moshkovskii pathogenic potential suggest this finding could constitute a public health risk for people exposed to this water.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Edificio 471, Oficina 302, Bogotá, DC, Colombia. jafonsecar@unal.edu.co.
authors.forename: Jairo Andres
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Edificio 471, Oficina 302, Bogotá, DC, Colombia.
authors.forename: Rubén Darío
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Heredia
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Edificio 471, Oficina 302, Bogotá, DC, Colombia.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ortiz
authors.affiliation: Corporación Autónoma Regional-CAR, Bogotá, DC, Colombia.
authors.forename: Martín
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mazo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, DC, Colombia.
authors.forename: Carlos Arturo
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Clavijo-Ramírez
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Edificio 471, Oficina 302, Bogotá, DC, Colombia.
authors.forename: Myriam Consuelo
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Lopez
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D003105:Colombia; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000032:analysis; D004747:Entamoeba / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004749:Entamoebiasis / Q000469:parasitology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D062065:Wastewater / Q000469:parasitology*
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D062065:Wastewater
keywords: Entamoeba moshkovskii; PCR; entamoebiasis; waste water