Acanthamoeba is the most well-known causes amoebic keratitis. However, other free-living amoebas (FLA), such as Valkampfia, can also causes of keratitis. Twenty-two samples were collected from cases suspected of amoebic keratitis in Kirkuk Hospital to investigate the presence of Acanthamoeba . Cultivation process was carried out directly on non-nutrient agar (NNA) medium supported with killed Escherichia coli bacteria. Inverted and light microscope were used at 40X magnification to diagnose cultures growth .Only two samples showed positive growth on NNA medium. However, no any presence of Acanthamoeba was observed as were expected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) which ampilified by JDP, the specific Acanthamoeba's primers. These two samples were further investigated using primers of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) addition to sequence tichnique, which confirmed the presence of Valkampfia spp. Remarkably, this discovery was registered in the American Gene Bank (NCBI) as inaugural infection that occurrence in Iraq and reported as the first case despite its global rarity. The findings of this study highlight the importance of considering to diagnosis the other species of free-living amoebae caused amoebic keratitis and treatment . Also, further research is needed to better understand the epidemic of keratitis caused by Valkampfia.
Turkan K. Karyagdi (Fri,) studied this question.