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Balamuthia mandrillaris
Etiology:
- case of a woman in Seattle who developed a brain abscess due to Balamuthia mandrillaris from using a neti pot filled with top water filtered with a Brita Water purifier [3]
Pathology:
- amoebic meningoencephalitis
- hemorrhagic necrosis
- uniformly fatal
Clinical manifestations:
- rash on the bridge of the nose (resembling rosacea)
- seizures
- cognitve deterioration & death
Laboratory:
1) does not grow on agar media used for Naegleria & Acanthamoeba
2) may be recovered in tissue culture in mammalian cell lines
3) indistinguishable from Acanthamoeba microscopically [2]
4) Balamuthia mandrillaris DNA
General
Balamuthia
Properties
KINGDOM: animal
PHYLUM: protozoa
References
- Clinical Diagnosis & Management by Laboratory Methods,
19th edition, J.B. Henry (ed), W.B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia,
PA. 1996, pg 1270
- Samuels MA, Gonzalez RG, Makadzange AT, Hedley-Whyte ET
Case 3-2017 - A 62-Year-Old Man with Cardiac Sarcoidosis
and New Diplopia and Weakness.
N Engl J Med 2017; 376:368-379. January 26, 2017
PMID: 28121502
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMcpc1610713
- Goldstein J
Woman Contracted Rare and Fatal Brain-Eating Amoeba After Using
Neti Pot with Tap Water: Doctor
People. Dec 6, 2018 via MSN News Dec 7, 2018
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/health-news/woman-contracted-rare-and-fatal-brain-eating-amoeba-after-using-neti-pot-with-tap-water-doctor/