Detection of Four Adenovirus Serotypes within Water-Isolated Strains of Acanthamoeba in the Canary Islands, Spain

Abstract

We surveyed 236 potentially pathogenic Acanthamoeba strains, isolated from water sources in the Canary Islands, for the presence of human adenoviruses (HAdV) using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based typing assay. A total of 34 of these strains were found to be positive for adenovirus belonging to four different HAdV serotypes (HAdV-1, 2, 8, and 37). We found that HAdV-2 was the most frequently encountered serotype amongst the Acanthamoeba strains, and their identification was confirmed by a nested PCR specific for this serotype. We showed that Acanthamoeba genotype T4 was highly associated with serotype HAdV-2, whereas Acanthamoeba genotype T3 was most often associated with adenovirus serotypes related to ocular diseases. Based on these data, we suggest that Acanthamoeba should be considered as a potential reservoir and perhaps even a transmitter of adenoviruses to human and other secondary hosts.