Ocular Acanthamoebiasis in Iraq

Abstract

Free – living or limax amoebae are
small free-living protozoans which exist in
fresh water and soil environment. These
amoebae were found infective to man causing
a fatal disease affecting the central nervous
system. Fowler and Carter were the first to
report four fatal human cases of acute
pyogenic meningitis caused by free-living
amoebae
1
. The genera Naegleria and
Acanthamoeba are incriminated in such
infections
2
. Swimming in contaminated water
has been frequently postulated as the way of
infection through the intranasal mucosa. Since
that time more than one hundred cases of
primary amoebic meningoencephalitis were
reported from different parts of the world. On
the other hand, the free-living amoebae of the
genus Acanthamoeba are known to cause eye
infection and keratitis
3,4,5
. The discovery of
progressive corneal ulceration due to several
species of Acanthamoeba were reported in
many parts of the world6,7
. We describe here
the first reported case of ocular
acanthamoebiasis in Iraq due to the infection
with Acanthamoeba sp.