**9. Conclusions**

Complex infective etiology and late recognition of amoebic infections were the important factors influencing diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties in AK. Laboratory examinations including *in vitro* cultivation of the isolates, acquired from corneal scrapings, allow directly to identify the facultative pathogens -the causative agents of the keratitis and to verify previous misdiagnoses. Early proper diagnosis in *Acanthamoeba* keratitis, confirmed by detection of live trophozoites in corneal scraping cultures are decisive for the treatment efficacy, particularly in contact lens wearers. The pharmacotherapy of the infectious eye disease is often unsuccess‐ ful; among others, it is if chemicals induce amoebic encystment; subsequently, an activation of the cysts can lead to repeated development of trophozoites and recurrence of the disease.

In some severe cases, keratoplasty and prolonged application of a mixture of drugs may be an appropriate option for visual rehabilitation.

Moreover, as our studies and experience show, *in vitro* monitoring of dynamics of *Acantha‐ moeba* strains isolated from affected eyes may be useful tool for proper diagnosis, therapeutic management and treatment prognosis.

Human infections with facultative parasitic *Acanthamoeba* strains are serious medical problem that should be taken into consideration as emerging threats of the public health worldwide.

Therefore, further educational efforts directed first of all to contact lens users are desirable for the prevention of this vision-threatening corneal disease.
