|
Investigation of the presence of Acanthamoeba in different parts of poultry slaughterhouses in Lorestan province
|
Firooz Beyranvand   , Somayeh Bahrami * , Mehdi Zarei , Fiona L. Henriquez |
|
|
|
Abstract: (936 Views) |
Introduction: Acanthamoeba is a genus of free-living amoebae widely distributed in nature, associated with the development of encephalitis and keratitis. In its natural habitat, i.e., soil and water, Acanthamoeba feeds on different bacteria and plays an important role in the regulation of bacterial populations. Many of the pathogenic bacteria have developed strategies to escape the killing mechanisms of Acanthamoeba and instead use the amoeba as a Trojan horse or reservoir for their benefit. The wide distribution of Acanthamoeba, the characteristic of being amphizoic (Biodiversity and parasitism) and the severity of the disease motivate researchers to focus on the isolation of these organisms. This study aimed to investigate the presence of Acanthamoeba on different surfaces of poultry slaughterhouses.
Materials & Methods: Samples were collected from chiller tank water, sewage, and tap water, surfaces of sorting tables (sorting out the viscera), and poultry carcass packing tables. Sterile gases were used for surface sampling. In total, 162 different samples were collected. Samples were filtered and cultured on the non-nutrient agar (NNA) medium enriched with Escherichia coli. Morphological analyses were done on positive samples.
Results: Acanthamoeba was isolated from all slaughterhouses and 66 samples (40.7%) were infected with amoeba. Acanthamoeba had been isolated from 100% of sewage water in different slaughterhouses. After sewage water (100%), the most contaminations were related to the sorting table (48.1%), chilling tank water (44.4%), packing table (29.60%), and hooks (22.2%), respectively.
Conclusion: Considering the isolation of Acanthamoeba from different parts of Lorestan province poultry slaughterhouses, the role of this amoeba in protecting microbial pathogens should be considered. Therefore, for environmental disinfection, this issue should be considered, and the importance of the presence of this amoeba is suggested to be taken into account in health guidelines. |
|
|
| Keywords: Acanthamoeba, Free-living amoeba, Isolation, Poultry, Slaughterhou |
|
|
Full-Text [PDF 993 kb]
(356 Downloads)
|
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
General
Received: 2025/08/26 | Accepted: 2025/10/2 | Published: 2025/10/2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Send email to the article author |
|
|
|
| Add your comments about this article |
|
|
|
