Research Projects

We all know that ‘water is life’, but the water can take our life too when it is contaminated with free-living amebae (FLA) such as Naegleria fowleri, Acanthamoeba castellanii, and Balamuthia mandrillaris which are deadly human pathogens. World health organization (WHO) has expressed deep concerns about these pathogens, particularly for Naegleria fowleri, which is also known as ‘brain-eating amoeba’ as the mortality rate is over 97% that is really scary. Naegleria fowleri, a free-living amoeba, causes primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a rare but rapidly fatal disease. Acanthamoeba and Balamuthia, both opportunistic free-living amebae, cause granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE) and can also cause disseminated disease in immunosuppressed patients. Acanthamoeba also causes corneal infection know as Acanthamoeba keratitis. It is reported that above 80% of patient having Acanthamoeba keratitis are the people who use contact lens and the infections starts from contamination of contact lens with Acanthamoeba. Despite being serious human pathogens, these free-living amoebae are only poorly studied both for the identification and infection perspective (epidemiological) as well as diagnostic and therapeutic (clinical) perspective. The temperate weather condition in India and subcontinent is favourable for the growth of these free-living amoeba, they prefer 39ºC temperature to grow propagate and contaminate water bodies like swimming pool, lakes, ponds. Then it can enter into the human body through nostril enter to the brain and start eating prain cells to develop PAM. So, community awareness is critical in mitigating infectious risks in most cases. Here we proposed the technology for the development of a point-of-care detection system that will be rapid, accurate and low cost detection of free-living amebae from patients as well as from water bodies that is the source of these pathogenic organisms. Our technology works in two steps, first a multiplex-recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) system followed by a strip-based lateral flow detention. Our kit will be used for the detection of these free-living amebae in patient sample as well as this will help to survey and water testing from different aquatic bodies in different parts of India (~100 water bodies in districts in North Eastern part of India will servey in this present study) to identify the presence of these deadly amebae, that will eventually prevent the infection and help in spreading the awareness among the people in villages and cities. Regular checking and safety certification of recreational water bodies will help to prevent infection by these deadly parasites. As there is no such drug available in the market to treat these pathogens, so prevention is the best way to avoid infection. Our strip-based lateral flow detention system will make safe to use the swimming pools and recreational water bodies to the customer.