Isolation of Free-Living Amoebae From Sarein Hot Springs in Ardebil Province, Iran

Free-living amoebae (fla) are a group of ubiquitous protozoan, which are distributed in the natural and artificial environment sources. the main aim of the current study was to identify the presence of fla in the recreational hot springs of sarein in ardebil province of iran.methods: seven recreational hot springs were selected in sarein city and 28 water samples (four from each hot spring) were collected using 500 ml sterile plastic bottles during three month. filtration of water samples was performed, and culture was done in nonnutrient agar medium enriched with escherichia coli. identification of the fla was based on morphological criteria of cysts and trophozoites. genotype identification of acanthamoeba positive samples were also performed using sequencing based method.results: overall, 12 out of 28 (42.9%) samples were positive for fla which acanthamoeba andvahlkampfiid amoebae were found in one (3.6%) and 11 (39.3%) samples, respectively. sequenceanalysis of the single isolate of acanthamoeba revealed potentially pathogenic t4 genotype correspondingto a. castellanii.conclusion: contamination of hot springs to fla, such as acanthamoeba t4 genotype (a. castellanii)and vahlkampfiid amoebae, could present a sanitary risk for high risk people, and health authorities mustbe aware of fla presence