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Seasonal distribution of potentially pathogenic Acanthamoeba species from drinking water reservoirs in Taiwan

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Abstract

In order to detect the presence/absence of Acanthamoeba along with geographical variations, water quality variations and seasonal change of Acanthamoeba in Taiwan was investigated by 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene TaqMan quantitative real-time PCR. Samples were collected quarterly at 19 drinking water reservoir sites from November 2012 to August 2013. Acanthamoeba was detected in 39.5 % (30/76) of the water sample, and the detection rate was 63.2 % (12/19) from samples collected in autumn. The average concentration of Acanthamoeba was 3.59 × 104 copies/L. For geographic distribution, the detection rate for Acanthamoeba at the northern region was higher than the central and southern regions in all seasons. Results of Spearman rank test revealed that heterotrophic plate count (HPC) had a negative correlation (R = −0.502), while dissolved oxygen (DO) had a positive correlation (R = 0.463) in summer. Significant differences were found only between the presence/absence of Acanthamoeba and HPC in summer (Mann-Whitney U test, P < 0.05). T2 and T4 genotypes of Acanthamoeba were identified, and T4 was the most commonly identified Acanthamoeba genotypes. The presence of Acanthamoeba in reservoirs presented a potential public health threat and should be further examined.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a research grant from National Science Council of Taiwan, ROC (NSC 102-2116-M-194-006).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Po-Min Kao, Bing-Mu Hsu, Hsiang-Yu Chang, Wen-Tsai Ji & Kai-Jiun Tzeng

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Cheng Hsin General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Tsui-Kang Hsu & Jorn-Hon Liu

  3. Department of Life Science, Institute of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biomedical Science, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Tsui-Kang Hsu

  4. Center for General Education, Cheng-Shiu University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Shih-Wei Huang

  5. Department of Safety Health and Environmental Engineering, National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Yu-Li Huang

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  1. Po-Min Kao
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  2. Bing-Mu Hsu
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  3. Tsui-Kang Hsu
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  7. Kai-Jiun Tzeng
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  8. Shih-Wei Huang
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Correspondence to Bing-Mu Hsu.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Tsui-Kang Hsu and Po-Min Kao equally contributed to this work.

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Kao, PM., Hsu, BM., Hsu, TK. et al. Seasonal distribution of potentially pathogenic Acanthamoeba species from drinking water reservoirs in Taiwan. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 3766–3773 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3651-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3651-8

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