Amebic Meningoencephalitis Caused by Balamuthia mandrillaris: Case Report and Review

Balamuthia mandrillaris, formerly referred to as a leptomyxid ameba, is a free-living ameba that has recently been identified as a cause of meningoencephalitis. Previously, only two genera, Naegleria and Acanthamoeba, were recognized as causes of central nervous system(CNS) infections in humans. In...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical infectious diseases 1997-12, Vol.25 (6), p.1354-1358
Main Authors: Denney, C. F., Iragui, V. J., Zak, L. D. Uber, Karpinski, N. C., Ziegler, E. J., Visvesvara, G. S., Reed, S. L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
AIDS
Amibiasis
Amoeba
Amoeba - isolation & purification
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Brain - parasitology
Brain - pathology
Central nervous system
Clinical Articles
Cysts
Encephalitis
Human protozoal diseases
Humans
Infections
Infectious diseases
Lesions
Male
Medical sciences
Meningoencephalitis
Meningoencephalitis - diagnostic imaging
Meningoencephalitis - parasitology
Meningoencephalitis - pathology
Parasitic diseases
Protozoal diseases
Radionuclide Imaging
Trophozoites
White matter
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Summary:Balamuthia mandrillaris, formerly referred to as a leptomyxid ameba, is a free-living ameba that has recently been identified as a cause of meningoencephalitis. Previously, only two genera, Naegleria and Acanthamoeba, were recognized as causes of central nervous system(CNS) infections in humans. In contrast to Naegleria, Balamuthia causes a subacute-to-chronic infection of the CNS. Distinct from Acanthamoeba, which appears to favor the immunocompromised host, Balamuthia is capable of infecting both healthy and immunosuppressed hosts. Retrospective analyses as well as an accumulation of newly identified cases have demonstrated that this ameba is an increasingly important pathogen to recognize.We report the isolation, histopathologic features, and confirmation by indirect immunofluorescence of B. mandrillaris in a case of fatal amebic meningoencephalitis.
ISSN:1058-4838
1537-6591
DOI:10.1086/516141