Systemic T17 infection in a free-ranging two-toed sloth: case report and literature review of infections by free-living amebas in mammals.

A free-ranging, adult female two-toed sloth () was brought to a wildlife rescue center in Costa Rica with ocular and auricular myiasis and numerous skin lesions. After one month of unsuccessful systemic and topical antimicrobial treatment, the patient died. A postmortem examination was performed, and tissues were examined histologically, confirming disseminated amebic infection with intralesional trophozoites and cysts in the lungs, liver, eye, heart, spleen, and stomach.

Acanthamoeba Infection and Nasal Rinsing, United States, 1994-2022.

We describe 10 patients with nonkeratitis Acanthamoeba infection who reported performing nasal rinsing before becoming ill. All were immunocompromised, 7 had chronic sinusitis, and many used tap water for nasal rinsing. Immunocompromised persons should be educated about safe nasal rinsing to prevent free-living ameba infections.

A Case of Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis Associated with Surfing at an Artificial Surf Venue: Environmental Investigation.

is a thermophilic ameba found in freshwater that causes primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) when it enters the nose and migrates to the brain. In September 2018, a 29-year-old man died of PAM after traveling to Texas. We conducted an epidemiologic and environmental investigation to identify the water exposure associated with this PAM case.

genus pangenome reveals new structural and functional insights into the versatility of these free-living amoebae.

Introduction: Free-living amoebae of the genus belong to the major protist clade Heterolobosea and are ubiquitously distributed in soil and freshwater habitats. Of the 47 species described, is the only one being pathogenic to humans, causing a rare but fulminant primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. Some genome sequences are publicly available, but the genetic basis for diversity and ability to thrive in diverse environments (including human brain) remains unclear.

The Epidemiology and Clinical Features of Non-Keratitis Infections in the United States, 1956-2020.

Background: is a free-living ameba that can cause severe disease affecting the central nervous system, skin, sinuses, and other organs, particularly in immunocompromised individuals. These rare but severe infections are often fatal, yet incompletely described.

Methods: Cases included were either reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Free-Living Ameba program or published in scientific literature.

Acanthamoeba castellanii encephalitis in a patient with AIDS: a case report and literature review.

Amoebic encephalitis is a rare cause of CNS infection for which mortality exceeds 90%. We present the case of a 27-year-old man with AIDS who presented to a hospital in Atlanta (Georgia, USA) with tonic-clonic seizures and headache. His clinical condition deteriorated over several days.

Comparative Genomic and Transcriptomic Analysis of Naegleria fowleri Clinical and Environmental Isolates.

Out of over 40 species of , which are free-living thermophilic amebae found in freshwater and soil worldwide, only Naegleria fowleri infects humans, causing primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a typically fatal brain disease. To understand the population structure of species and the genetic relationships between N. fowleri isolates and to detect pathogenic factors, we characterized 52 novel clinical and environmental N.

A case report of primary amebic meningoencephalitis in North Florida.

Primary amebic meningoencephalitis is a rare, usually fatal disease, caused by . This case highlights the challenging clinicopathologic diagnosis in a 13-year-old boy who swam in freshwater in northern Florida where a previous case had exposure to a body of water on the same property in 2009.

Draft Chromosome Sequences of a Clinical Isolate of the Free-Living Ameba Naegleria fowleri.

We present the chromosome sequences of a isolate from a human primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) case. The genome sequences were assembled from Illumina HiSeq and PacBio sequencing data and verified with the optical mapping data. This led to the identification of 37 contigs representing 37 chromosomes in .

Geographic Range of Recreational Water-Associated Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis, United States, 1978-2018.

Naegleria fowleri is a free-living ameba that causes primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a rare but usually fatal disease. We analyzed trends in recreational water exposures associated with PAM cases reported during 1978-2018 in the United States. Although PAM incidence remained stable, the geographic range of exposure locations expanded northward.

A Real-Time PCR Assay for Simultaneous Detection and Differentiation of Four Common Species That Infect Humans.

There are over 40 species within the genus , eight of which infect humans. Of these, four species (, , , and ) are morphologically indistinguishable from each other, and yet differentiation is important for appropriate treatment decisions. Here, we developed a hydrolysis probe-based tetraplex real-time PCR assay that can simultaneously detect and differentiate these four species in clinical samples.

Diagnostic evaluation of fatal Balamuthia mandrillaris meningoencephalitis in a captive Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) with identification of potential environmental source and evidence of chronic exposure.

A female Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) aged 11 years and 6 months was examined by veterinarians after caretakers observed lethargy and facial grimacing. Within 72 h the primate had left-sided hemiparesis that worsened over the next week. An MRI revealed a focal right-sided cerebral mass suspected to be a neoplasm.

HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors as Drug Leads against .

Primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), caused by the free-living ameba , has a fatality rate of over 97%. Treatment of PAM relies on amphotericin B in combination with other drugs, but few patients have survived with the existing drug treatment regimens. Therefore, development of effective drugs is a critical unmet need to avert deaths from PAM.

Rapid, Noninvasive Diagnosis of Encephalitis by a Plasma-Based Next-Generation Sequencing Test.

Granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE) caused by is a rare subacute infection with exceptionally high mortality. Diagnosis is typically made by brain biopsy or at autopsy. Detection of cell-free DNA by next-generation sequencing of plasma enabled rapid, noninvasive diagnosis in a case of amoebic encephalitis.

Epidemiology and Clinical Characteristics of Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis Caused by Naegleria fowleri: A Global Review.

Background: Primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) is a rapidly progressive and often fatal condition caused by the free-living ameba Naegleria fowleri. To estimate the global occurrence, characterize the epidemiology, and describe the clinical features of PAM, we report a series of PAM cases published in the international literature and reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Methods: We performed a literature search of PAM case reports published through 2018.

Entamoeba histolytica infections in wild and semi-wild orangutans in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Key to the success of orangutan conservation management practices is the prevention of the introduction of infectious diseases to the remaining populations. Previous reports of Entamoeba spp. positive orangutans are of concern as Entamoeba spp.

Identification of in Patients with Suspected Amebiasis in Jordan Using PCR-based Assays.

Background And Objective: Identification of Entamoeba histolytica (E. histolytica) by microscopy alone can be problematic because E. dispar and E.

A case of primary amebic meningoencephalitis caused by Naegleria fowleri in Bangladesh.

We present the first recognized case of primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) caused by Naegleria fowleri in a 15-year-old male from Bangladesh. He performed daily nasal rinsing with untreated ground water and bathed in untreated ground water or river water, which likely exposed him to N. fowleri.

Granulomatous amoebic encephalitis caused by in a patient with AIDS: a challenging diagnosis.

Introduction: spp. is a ubiquitous free-living amoeba that causes human infections affecting predominantly the cornea and central nervous system. The diagnosis and treatment of encephalitis is very challenging.

Canine amoebic meningoencephalitis due to Balamuthia mandrillaris.

A 1-year-old Siberian Husky dog with acute-onset of seizures, recumbency, paddling, and muscular fasciculations was autopsied. A locally extensive hemorrhagic and malacic focus was noted in the right cerebral frontal cortex, and severe necrotizing and hemorrhagic, neutrophilic meningoencephalitis was diagnosed microscopically. Amoebic trophozoites and cysts were identified within the affected cerebral parenchyma and confirmed by indirect immunofluorescence assay and real-time PCR as Balamuthia mandrillaris.

Non-granulomatous cerebellar infection by Acanthamoeba spp. in an immunocompetent host.

Acanthamoeba spp. is a free-living amoeba, frequently involved in keratitis by contact lens in immunocompetent hosts. Anecdotal reports associate Acanthamoeba spp.

Acanthamoeba endophthalmitis during treatment for cutaneous disease in a renal transplant patient.

Acanthamoeba infections are difficult to diagnose and treat. We present a renal transplant patient who developed Acanthamoeba endophthalmitis on therapy with posaconazole and miltefosine for cutaneous acanthamobiasis. The patient was maintained on intracameral voriconazole injections, and oral azithromycin, fluconazole, and flucytosine.