All articles tagged with #primary amebic meningoencephalitis
A 71-year-old Texas woman died from primary amebic meningoencephalitis after rinsing her sinuses with tap water from an RV. Naegleria fowleri is a rare, deadly amoeba that can enter the nose via non-sterile water used in nasal irrigation, so only distilled/sterile water (or boiled-and-cooled water) should be used and irrigation devices must be properly cleaned and maintained.
Climate change has caused the "brain-eating" amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, to expand its range northward, infecting more people in northern US states in recent years. The amoeba typically lives in soil and warm fresh water and can infiltrate the human brain and spinal cord by entering a person's nose, causing a nearly always fatal infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). Health care providers in northern states are advised to probe whether patients with meningitis symptoms have recently swum in warm fresh water and to contact the CDC if PAM is suspected. 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.
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.