Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27724947›Full record

ArticleParasites & vectors2016

Molecular detection of Acanthamoeba spp., Naegleria fowleri and Vermamoeba (Hartmannella) vermiformis as vectors for Legionella spp. in untreated and solar pasteurized harvested rainwater.

Penelope H Dobrowsky, Sehaam Khan, Thomas E Cloete, Wesaal Khan

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Parasites & vectors, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
18citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

18 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Microorganisms · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Prevalence ofEnvironment & health (Washington, D.C.) · 2023
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Microorganisms · 2022
    Review
  8. Diversity of Giant Viruses InfectingFrontiers in microbiology · 2022
    Review
  9. Legionellosis Caused by Non-Microorganisms · 2021
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020
    Review
  15. Review
  16. Abundance of Naegleria fowleri in roof-harvested rainwater tank samples from two continents.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2018
    Article
  17. Frontiers in microbiology · 2017
    Review
  18. Iranian journal of parasitology
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Penelope H DobrowskyDepartment of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa.
Sehaam KhanFaculty of Health and Applied Sciences, Namibia University of Science and Technology, 13 Storch Street, Private Bag 13388, Windhoek, Namibia.
Thomas E CloeteDepartment of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa.
Wesaal KhanDepartment of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa. wesaal@sun.ac.za.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLegionella spp. employ multiple strategies to adapt to stressful environments including the proliferation in protective biofilms and the ability to form associations with free-living amoeba (FLA). The aim of the current study was to identify Legionella spp., Acanthamoeba spp., Vermamoeba (Hartmannella) vermiformis and Naegleria fowleri that persist in a harvested rainwater and solar pasteurization treatment system.

methodsPasteurized (45 °C, 65 °C, 68 °C, 74 °C, 84 °C and 93 °C) and unpasteurized tank water samples were screened for Legionella spp. and the heterotrophic plate count was enumerated. Additionally, ethidium monoazide quantitative polymerase chain reaction (EMA-qPCR) was utilized for the quantification of viable Legionella spp., Acanthamoeba spp., V. vermiformis and N. fowleri in pasteurized (68 °C, 74 °C, 84 °C and 93 °C) and unpasteurized tank water samples, respectively.

resultsOf the 82 Legionella spp. isolated from unpasteurized tank water samples, Legionella longbeachae (35 %) was the most frequently isolated, followed by Legionella norrlandica (27 %) and Legionella rowbothamii (4 %). Additionally, a positive correlation was recorded between the heterotrophic plate count vs. the number of Legionella spp. detected (ρ = 0.710, P = 0.048) and the heterotrophic plate count vs. the number of Legionella spp. isolated (ρ = 0.779, P = 0.0028) from the tank water samples collected. Solar pasteurization was effective in reducing the gene copies of viable V. vermiformis (3-log) and N. fowleri (5-log) to below the lower limit of detection at temperatures of 68-93 °C and 74-93 °C, respectively. Conversely, while the gene copies of viable Legionella and Acanthamoeba were significantly reduced by 2-logs (P = 0.0024) and 1-log (P = 0.0015) overall, respectively, both organisms were still detected after pasteurization at 93 °C.

conclusionsResults from this study indicate that Acanthamoeba spp. primarily acts as the vector and aids in the survival of Legionella spp. in the solar pasteurized rainwater as both organisms were detected and were viable at high temperatures (68-93 °C).

Indexed as

Disease VectorsWater MicrobiologyAcanthamoebaAnimalsDNA, BacterialHartmannellaHot TemperatureLegionellaNaegleria fowleriPasteurizationReal-Time Polymerase Chain ReactionDNA, BacterialAcanthamoebaLegionellaNaegleriaRainwater harvestingSolar pasteurizationVermamoeba

Identifiers

PMID27724947
PMCPMC5057267

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.