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• Acanthamoeba sp. were detected in all eight soil samples collected from the Payeh Maga Highland forest, Sarawak, Malaysia. • Nine isolates were classified as morphological Group II Acanthamoeba and two isolates as Group III according to the criteria of Pussard and Pons. • Phylogenetic analysis based on complete 18S rRNA gene sequences showed that these Acanthamoeba isolates belonged to T1 (n = 6), T6 (n = 2) and T13 (n = 3) genotypes. • For the first time that T6 Acanthamoeba sp. was detected in Malaysia. Pathogenic Acanthamoeba species are the causative agents of Acanthamoeba keratitis and granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. Members of this amoeba genus are ubiquitous in the environments. In Malaysia, most environmental studies performed to date have targeted the detection and characterisation of Acanthamoeba sp. in different water sources, dust and soil samples collected near human habitats. However, no local study has yet to examine these amoebae in a forest, an isolated terrestrial environment, where human activity is relatively scarce. Further, there are also limited studies to investigate the same globally. The current study reported the isolation, morphological and genotypic characterisations of eleven Acanthamoeba sp. isolated from soils of the Payeh Maga Highland forest, Sarawak, Malaysia. Morphological analysis revealed that nine isolates belonged to Group II, whereas two isolates belonged to Group III as defined by the criteria of Pussard and Pons. The phylogenetic analysis based on complete 18S rRNA gene sequences showed that the isolates belonged to the rare T1 (six isolates), T6 (two isolates) and T13 (three isolates) genotypes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report about the detection of T6 Acanthamoeba sp. in this country. Overall, the current findings have enriched the knowledge pertaining to the occurrence, morphological and genotypic characteristics of Acanthamoeba sp. in an isolated terrestrial environment of Malaysia. Rare Acanthamoeba belonged to T1, T6 and T13 genotypes were detected in the soil samples collected from the Payeh Maga Highland forest, Sarawak, Malaysia. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) of sequence type 398 (ST398) has frequently been detected in pigs and pig handlers. However, in Malaysia, sampling 360 pigs and 90 pig handlers from 30 farms identified novel ST9-spa type t4358-staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type V MRSA strains that were found to transiently colonize more than 1% of pigs and 5.5% of pig handlers.