Determination of Bioclimatic Factors Associated with Acanthamoeba Distribution Using Ecological Niche Modeling in Two Foci of Turkey

Purpose The protozoan parasite Acanthamoeba , which is known to be opportunistic in nature, has a global distribution in the environment and is responsible for causing severe infections in humans.The aims of this study were to determine the presence of Acanthamoeba in water and soil samples using culture methods, to determine the underlying factors affecting its distribution and, to produce the current and future probability model of Acanthamoeba spp in the study areas. Methods A total of 20 water samples from hot springs and swimming pools and 20 soil samples were taken from various parks and agricultural areas in Afyon and Kütahya. We have opted to utilize the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) modeling algorithm, included 19 bioclimatic (bioclim) variables. Results We identified positive water samples rate in Afyon and Kütahya were 60% and 100% respectively. Also, we detected 70% and 50% positive rates of soil samples collected in Afyon and Kütahya respectively. Furthermore, it was determined that BIO3, BIO4, BIO13 and BIO15 exhibit the highest degree of influence on both present and anticipated future outcomes. The model's validity was assessed by computing the AUC values for both present and future periods, resulting in values of 0.991 and 0.977, respectively. Conclusion According to the parameters determined to affect the presence of the parasite, it is predicted that the presence of Acanthamoeba will increase in the coming years, especially towards the southwest of Afyon and the southern regions of Kütahya.