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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, November 2000, p. 3932-3936, Vol. 38, No. 11
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Discrimination between Clinically Relevant and Nonrelevant Acanthamoeba Strains Isolated from Contact Lens- Wearing Keratitis Patients in Austria

J. Walochnik,1 E.-M. Haller-Schober,2 H. Kölli,2 O. Picher,1 A. Obwaller,1 and H. Aspöck1,*

Department for Medical Parasitology, Clinical Institute of Hygiene, University of Vienna,1 and Department of Ophthalmology, Karl-Franzens-University, Graz,2 Austria

Received 24 April 2000/Accepted 18 August 2000

Eighteen cases of Acanthamoeba-associated keratitis among contact lens wearers seen at the Department of Ophthalmology, Karl-Franzens-University, Graz, Austria, between 1996 and 1999 are reviewed. The amoebae were proven to be the causative agents in three patients. The aim of our study was to discriminate between clinically relevant and nonrelevant isolates and to assess the relatedness of the isolates to published strains. Altogether, 20 strains of free-living amoebae, including 15 Acanthamoeba strains, 3 Vahlkampfia strains, and 2 Hartmannella strains, were isolated from clinical specimens. The virulent Acanthamoeba strains were identified as A. polyphaga and two strains of A. hatchetti. To our knowledge this is the first determination of keratitis-causing Acanthamoeba strains in Austria. Clinically relevant isolates differed markedly from nonrelevant isolates with respect to their physiological properties. 18S ribosomal DNA sequence types were determined for the three physiologically most-divergent strains including one of the keratitis-causing strains. This highly virulent strain exhibited sequence type T6, a sequence type not previously associated with keratitis. Sequence data indicate that Acanthamoeba strains causing keratitis as well as nonpathogenic strains of Acanthamoeba in Austria are most closely related to published strains from other parts of the world. Moreover, the results of our study support the assumption that pathogenicity in Acanthamoeba is a distinct capability of certain strains and not dependent on appropriate conditions for the establishment of an infection.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department for Medical Parasitology, Clinical Institute of Hygiene, University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, 1095 Vienna, Austria. Phone: 0043-1-4277-79430. Fax: 0043-1-4277-9794. E-mail: Horst.Aspoeck{at}univie.ac.at.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, November 2000, p. 3932-3936, Vol. 38, No. 11
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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