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  balamuthia cysts under a microscope

Cyst of Balamuthia mandrillaris.

Balamuthia mandrillarisis a free-living ameba (a single-celled living organism) found in the environment. It is one of the causes of granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE), a serious infection of the brain and spinal cord 1,2,5,6. Balamuthia is thought to enter the body when soil containing Balamuthia comes in contact with skin wounds and cuts, or when dust containing Balamuthia is breathed in or gets in the mouth 1,2. The Balamuthia amebas can then travel to the brain through the blood stream and cause GAE 4. GAE is a very rare disease that is usually fatal.

Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) first discovered Balamuthia mandrillaris in 1986. The ameba was found in the brain of a dead mandrill baboon 2,7. After extensive research, B. mandrillaris was declared a new species of ameba in 1993 7. Since then, more than 200 cases of Balamuthia infection have been diagnosed worldwide, with at least 70 cases reported in the United States 2. Little is known at this time about how a person becomes infected 1, 3.

References
  1. Siddiqui R, Khan NA. Balamuthia amoebic encephalitis: an emerging disease with fatal consequences. Microb Pathog. 2008;44(2):89-97.
  2. Perez MT, Bush LM. Balamuthia mandrillaris amebic encephalitis. Curr Infect Dis Rep. 2007;9(4):323-8.
  3. Schuster FL, Glaser C, Honarmand S, Maguire JH, Visvesvara GS. Balamuthia amebic encephalitis risk, Hispanic-Americans. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004;10(8):1510-12.
  4. Huang ZH, Ferrante A, Carter RF. Serum antibodies to Balamuthia mandrillaris, a free-living amoeba recently demonstrated to cause granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. J Infect Dis. 1999;179(5):1305-8.
  5. Maciver SK. The threat from Balamuthia mandrillaris. J Med Microbiol. 2007;56(Pt 1):1-3.
  6. Perez MT, Bush LM. Fatal amebic encephalitis caused by Balamuthia mandrillaris in an immunocompetent host: a clinicopathological review of pathogenic free-living amebae in human hosts. Ann Diagn Pathol. 2007;11(6):440-7.
  7. Visvesvara GS, Moura H, Schuster FL. Pathogenic and opportunistic free-living amoebae: Acanthamoeba spp. , Balamuthia mandrillaris, Naegleria fowleri, and Sappinia diploidea. FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol. 2007;50(1):1-26.
  8. CDC. Balamuthia amebic encephalitis–California, 1999-2007. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2008;57(28):768-71.
  9. Schuster FL, Visvesvara GS. Free-living amoebae as opportunistic and non-opportunistic pathogens of humans and animals. Int J Parasitol. 2004;34(9):1001-27.
  10. Schuster FL, Visvesvara GS. Opportunistic amoebae: challenges in prophylaxis and treatment. Drug Resist Updat. 2004;7(1):41-51.
  11. Martinez DY, Seas C, Bravo F, Legua P, Ramos C, Cabello AM, Gotuzzo E. Successful treatment of Balamuthia mandrillaris amoebic infection with extensive neurological and cutaneous involvement. Clin Infect Dis. 2010;51(2):e7-11.
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