Four of these samples were identified as Acanthamoeba species on
the basis of morphological characteristics (double walled cyst wall) which were further confirmed by PCR. This is a significant finding as Acanthamoeba is a well known pathogen of immunocompromised patients causing serious sequelae like encephalitis. Its isolation from reverse osmosis filter (RO) taps of nursing coffee room (swab only) and pantry (swab and water both) of BMT ward is an additional challenge because these are the drinking water sources of both staff and the patients. Although faecal to oral route of transmission of FLA is not documented, still the risk of spread of pathogenic bacteria through FLA as vehicles of entry remains in the vulnerable population. Their isolation from bathing and hand-washing taps further increases the risk of acquiring these pathogens through skin, mucosa, nasal and ocular tracts. The remaining 10 samples could not be identified by PCR, though they showed trophozoites and cysts in culture. The reason for this could be that in spite of being FLA, primers used in the study could not amplify them thereby highlighting the fact that water may harbour a large number of FLA which may not be identified.