Recovery of soil amoebae from the air during the harmattan in Zaria, Nigeria.

An attempt was made to recover soil amoebae from the air during the harmattan in Zaria, Nigeria. Non-nutrient agar plates seeded with Escherichia coli were used as settle plates and exposed to the air for 30 minutes to four hours, after which they were incubated at 27 degrees C or at 37 degrees C. A total of 38 strains of amoebae were cultured: 21 of the genus Hartmannella, eight Naegleria, four Schizopyrenus, three Didascalus and two Tetramitus. Three pathogenic species, H. culbertsoni, N. fowleri and H. rhysodes, were also recovered and all killed mice. These results suggest the possibility of airborne primary amoebic meningoencephalitis infections in Nigeria.