posted on 2024-01-09, 06:04authored byElliott
P. Barnhart, Stacy M. Kinsey, Peter R. Wright, Sara L. Caldwell, Vince Hill, Amy Kahler, Mia Mattioli, Robert S. Cornman, Deborah Iwanowicz, Zachary Eddy, Sandra Halonen, Rebecca Mueller, Brent M. Peyton, Geoffrey J Puzon
The free-living thermophilic amoeba Naegleria
fowleri (N. fowleri) causes the highly fatal
disease primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. The environmental conditions
that are favorable to the growth and proliferation of N. fowleri are not well-defined, especially in northern
regions of the United States. In this study, we used culture-based
methods and multiple molecular approaches to detect and analyzeN. fowleri and other Naegleria spp.
in water, sediment, and biofilm samples from five hot spring sites
in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, U.S.A. These results provide
the first detections of N. fowleri in
Grand Teton National Park and provide new insights into the distribution
of pathogenic N. fowleri and other
nonpathogenic Naegleria spp. in natural thermal water
systems in northern latitudes.