Health officials warn of 'brain-eating' amoebas in northern US states

Climate change has caused the deadly "brain-eating" amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, to expand its range northward, with cases now occurring in more northern US states, including Minnesota, Kansas, and Indiana. The amoeba causes an infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), which is nearly always fatal. Health care providers in northern states should be aware of the disease and probe whether patients with meningitis symptoms have recently swum in warm fresh water. Miltefosine, a drug that has killed N. fowleri in the lab and slain other species of brain-eating amoeba in people, has been used to treat PAM.