Can Free Living Acanthamoeba Act as a Trojan Horse for SARS-Cov-2 on Viral Survival and Transmission in the Environment? A Narrative Review.

Acanthamoeba is a free-living amoeba that has been found on surfaces, air, water and various environmental sources around the world. It enters the human body through the respiratory tract via the nose. Of note, amoebae are well known to act as a reservoir for various pathogenic microorganisms including bacteria and viruses such as Adenoviruses and Mimivirus . Given that SARS-CoV-2 of the Coronaviridae family is transmitted through the respiratory tract, and the Trojan horse nature of Acanthamoeba , it has been suggested that amoebae act as a vector in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The aim of this study was to provide an opinion of the possibility of the coexistence of Acanthamoeba with SARS-CoV-2.
Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
(Copyright © 2022 Mirabedini et al. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences.)