PubMed · 13590326
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A BONEBAKKER. 1958-08-30. [Hepatic amebiasis].. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/13590326/
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Thermophilic amoeboflagellates in the genus Naegleria include both virulent and benign species. One of the less studied species, N. italica, has not been detected in the environment since the first reports from Italy in the 1980s; its virulence is known only from infection of laboratory mice. Two recent strains from recreational water in Western Australia (AWQC NG960, NG961) were tentatively identified as N. italica from the characteristic mobilities of seven isozymes. Sequences of the 5.8S rRNA gene and its flanking ITS aligned with a 380+bp length of the published sequence for N. italica with 98% identity. Differences from the type strain were confined to ITS2. Shorter alignments (<320 bp) were observed with other Naegleria species, corresponding to conserved regions of the 5.8S gene and ITS. Unlike the European type strain of N. italica, the Australian isolates failed to infect laboratory mice intranasally, confirming that infectivity of this species is variable and often lower than in N. fowleri.
The identification of parasites in ancient human faeces is compromised by differential preservation of identifiable parasite structures. However, protein molecules can survive the damage of the environment and can be detected even after centuries. In this paper it is shown that is possible to detect copro-antigen of Entamoeba histolytica in historic and prehistoric human faecal remains, using a commercially available enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) kit. The kit uses monoclonal antibody-peroxidase conjugate specific for E. histolytica adhesin. A total of 90 specimens of desiccated faeces found in mummies and ancient organic sediment from South America, North America, Africa, and Europe were examined. The ELISA detected 20 positive samples, dated to about 5300 years before present to the 19th Century ad. The positive samples are from archaeological sites in Argentina, USA, France, Belgium, and Switzerland. The detection of protozoan antigen using immunoassays is a reliable tool for the studies of intestinal parasites in the past.