Original Article

An Experimental Model of Primary Amoebic Meningoence phalitis Due to Naegleria australiensis in Iran

Abstract

Background: The main aim of the present research was to develop the experimental meningo encephalitis due to Naegleria australiensis isolated from geothermal water sources in mice model, November 2017 in Iran.

Methods: Naegleria australiensis was isolated from geothermal water sources in northern Iran. The number of amoebae was adjusted to be 1×104/ml amoebae. The experimental infection was done using 3 wk old male (BALB/c) mice. Seven animals were used for experimental amebic infection and one animal was selected for the control. Intranasal (IN) and intracerebral (IC) inoculation of amoebae were done. The mice were then monitored on daily observation and as soon as they present any brain involvement they sacrificed. The brain of all animals was then dislocated and passaged in non-nutrient agar.

Results: One mouse out of seven infected mice were showed clinical symptoms of meningoencephalitis. Within few hours of culture of the brain, many vegetative forms of amoebae were detected in plate culture. The other infected animals and control mice showed no clinical symptoms until day 14. After 14 d all the animals sacrificed. The culture was negative up to one month.

Conclusion: The lack of brain involvement of other animals in the present study could be due to animal immune system or it may be possible that the amoebae did not reach to olfactory bulb of nostrils.

1. Visvesvara GS. Infections with free-living amebae. Handb Clin Neurol. 2013; 114:153-68.
2. Ferrante A. Experimental pneumonitis induced by Naegleria fowleri in mice. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1981; 75(6):907-8.
3. Visvesvara GS, Sriram R, Qvarnstrom Y et al. Paravahlkampfia francinae n. sp. masquer-ading as an agent of primary amoebic me-ningoencephalitis. J Eukaryot Microbi-ol. 2009; 56(4):357-66.
4. Niyyati M, Lasjerdi Z, Zarein-Dolab S et al. Morphological and Molecular Survey of Naegleria spp. in Water Bodies Used for Recreational Purposes in Rasht city, Northern Iran. Iran J Parasitol. 2015; 10(4):523-9.
5. Solgi R, Niyyati M, Haghighi A, Mojarad EN. Occurrence of Thermotolerant Hart-mannella vermiformis and Naegleria Spp. in Hot Springs of Ardebil Province, North-west Iran. Iran J Parasitol. 2012; 7(2):47-52.
6. Niyyati M, Lasjerdi Z, Nazar M et al. Screening of recreational areas of rivers for potentially pathogenic free-living amoebae in the suburbs of Tehran, Iran. J Water Health. 2012; 10(1):140-6.
7. Movahedi Z, Shokrollahi MR, Aghaali M, Heydari H. Primary amoebic meningoen-cephalitis in an Iranian infant. Case Rep Med. 2012; 2012:782854.
8. Latifi AR, Niyyati M, Lorenzo-Morales J et al. Occurrence of Naegleria species in ther-apeutic geothermal water sources, North-ern Iran. Acta Parasitol. 2017; 62(1):104-109.
9. Dyková I, Pecková H, Fiala I, Dvoráková H. Fish-isolated Naegleria strains and their phylogeny inferred from ITS and SSU rDNA sequences. Folia Parasitol (Praha). 2006; 53(3):172-80.
10. Scaglia M, Gatti S, Cevini C et al. Naegleria australiensis ssp. italica: experimental study in mice. Exp Parasitol. 1989; 69(3):294-9.
11. De Jonckheere JF. Naegleria australiensis sp. nov., another pathogenic Naegleria from water. Protistologica. 1981; 17:423-429.
12. De Jonckheere JF. Differences in virulence of Naegleria fowleri. Pathol Biol (Paris). 1979; 27(8):453-8.
13. Wong MM, Karr SL, Show CK. Changes in the virulence of Naegleria fowleri main-tained in vitro. J Parasitol. 1977; 63(5):872-8.
14. De Jonckheere JF, Aerts M, Martinez AJ. Naegleria australiensis: experimental menin-goencephalitis in mice. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1983; 77(5):712-6.
15. De Jonckheere JF. What do we know by now about the genus Naegleria? Exp Para-sitol. 2014; 145 Suppl:S2-9.
Files
IssueVol 13 No 3 (2018) QRcode
SectionOriginal Article(s)
Keywords
Naegleria australiensis Experimental model Iran

Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
1.
LATIFI A, NIYYATI M, SEYYED TABAEI SJ, TAHVILDAR BIDEROUNI F, HAGHIGHI A, LASJERDI Z. An Experimental Model of Primary Amoebic Meningoence phalitis Due to Naegleria australiensis in Iran. Iran J Parasitol. 2018;13(3):369-372.