Naegleria fowleri after 50 Years: Is it a neglected pathogen?

Naegleria fowleri after 50 Years: Is it a neglected pathogen? J Med Microbiol. 2016 Jul 4; Authors: Martínez-Castillo M, Cárdenas-Zúñiga R, Coronado-Velázquez D, Debnath A, Serrano-Luna J, Shibayama M Abstract It has been 50 years since the first case of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) an acute and rapidly fatal disease of the central nervous system (CNS) was reported in Australia. It is now known that the etiological agent of PAM is Naegleria fowleri, an amoeba that is commonly known as "the brain-eating amoeba". N. fowleri infects humans of different ages which are in contact with contaminated water with this microorganism. N. fowleri is distributed worldwide and is found growing in bodies of freshwater in tropical and subtropical environments. The number of PAM cases has recently increased, and the rate of recovery from PAM has been estimated at only 5%. Amphotericin B has been used to treat patients with PAM. However, it is important to note that there is no specific treatment for PAM. Moreover, this amoeba is considered a neglected microorganism. Researchers have exerted great effort to design effective drugs to treat PAM and to understand the pathogenesis on PAM over the last 50 years, such as its pathology, molecular and cellular biology, diagnosis and prevention, and its biological implications, including its pathogenic genotypes, its distribution, and its ecology. Given the rapid progression of PAM and its hig...
Source: Journal of Medical Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: J Med Microbiol Source Type: research