A Case of Hartmannellid Amebic Meningoencephalitis in Zambia

Bhagwandeen, S. B.; F.Carter, R.; Kg, Naik; Levitt, Danielle E.

doi:10.1093/ajcp/63.4.483

Cited by 39 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Predisposing factors include alcoholism, drug abuse, steroid treatment, cancer chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and organ transplantation (14,282,408). Although enhanced susceptibility to infection is associated with immune suppression and debilitating conditions, cases of GAE caused by Acanthamoeba have been found in immunocompetent children and adults (35,336,368,388,419). The route of infection is thought to be by inhalation of amebae through the nasal passages and lungs or introduction through skin lesions.…”

Section: Granulomatous Amebic Encephalitismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These observations of experimental animals dying from encephalitis led Culbertson et al (99) to predict a role for free-living amebae as agents of human disease. Human cases of amebic encephalitis were reported soon thereafter from Australia, Europe, Africa, South America, and the United States (35,57,58,64,74,142,201,280,284,344,476). However, some of these cases were identified later as primary amebic meningoencephalitis, a rapidly fatal disease of the CNS caused by another free-living ameba, Naegleria fowleri (57,268,286).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Acanthamoebaspp. as Agents of Disease in Humans

2003

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Acanthamoeba spp. are free-living amebae that inhabit a variety of air, soil, and water environments. However, these amebae can also act as opportunistic as well as nonopportunistic pathogens. They are the causative agents of granulomatous amebic encephalitis and amebic keratitis and have been associated with cutaneous lesions and sinusitis. Immuno compromised individuals, including AIDS patients, are particularly susceptible to infections with Acanthamoeba. The immune defense mechanisms that operate against Acanthamoeba have not been well characterized, but it has been proposed that both innate and acquired immunity play a role. The ameba's life cycle includes an active feeding trophozoite stage and a dormant cyst stage. Trophozoites feed on bacteria, yeast, and algae. However, both trophozoites and cysts can retain viable bacteria and may serve as reservoirs for bacteria with human pathogenic potential. Diagnosis of infection includes direct microscopy of wet mounts of cerebrospinal fluid or stained smears of cerebrospinal fluid sediment, light or electron microscopy of tissues, in vitro cultivation of Acanthamoeba, and histological assessment of frozen or paraffin-embedded sections of brain or cutaneous lesion biopsy material. Immunocytochemistry, chemifluorescent dye staining, PCR, and analysis of DNA sequence variation also have been employed for laboratory diagnosis. Treatment of Acanthamoeba infections has met with mixed results. However, chlorhexidine gluconate, alone or in combination with propamidene isethionate, is effective in some patients. Furthermore, effective treatment is complicated since patients may present with underlying disease and Acanthamoeba infection may not be recognized. Since an increase in the number of cases of Acanthamoeba infections has occurred worldwide, these protozoa have become increasingly important as agents of human disease

show abstract

Section: Granulomatous Amebic Encephalitismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acanthamoebaspp. as Agents of Disease in Humans

2003

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…[6][7][8][9] Furthermore, only three clinical related studies regarding Acanthamoeba genus have been reported in Africa: one case of encephalitis due to Acanthamoeba in Dakar, Senegal, 14 an epidemiological study to determine the presence of FLA in the nasal passages of a population in Zaria, Nigeria 24 and the report of three cases of AK in patients from Tunisia. 16 Another case of encephalitis due to a hartmannellid amoeba was reported in Zambia; 25 however, it is possible that the identification of this strain was not carried out correctly. Finally, one sample was positive for B. mandrillaris.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Presence of potentially pathogenic free-living amoebae strains from well water samples in Guinea-Bissau

Baquero

Reyes-Batllé

Nicola

et al. 2014

Pathogens and Global Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Free-living amoebae (FLA) include opportunistic pathogens such as Naegleria fowleri, Balamuthia mandrillaris, and the genera Sappinia and Acanthamoeba. In this study, a survey was conducted in order to evaluate the presence of potentially pathogenic amoebic strains in water samples collected from wells located in the western part of Guinea-Bissau. The samples were left to precipitate for 48 hours and then the sediments were seeded on non-nutrient agar plates containing Escherichia coli spread and cultures were checked daily for the presence of FLA. Identification of FLA strains was based on the morphological and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using the 18S rDNA or 16S mitochondrial rDNA genes in the case of Naegleria and Balamuthia genera, respectively. In the case of positive samples of Acanthamoeba, strains were further classified at the genotype level by sequencing the diagnostic fragment 3 (DF3) region located in the 18S rDNA gene as previously described. Sappinia sp. was not isolated during the study and thus, no molecular analysis was performed for this genus. The obtained results revealed the presence of Acanthamoeba (genotypes T3 and T4), Naegleria fowleri, and Balamuthia mandrillaris. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating the presence of FLA in water bodies from GuineaBissau and the first report on the isolation of Balamuthia mandrillaris from environmental sources in Africa.

show abstract

“…I4 -ltf This seasonal incidence is found in all other PAME cases reported where climatic data is made available. 4 -51 "-12 -1 "- 19 This strongly indicates that warm temperatures are a predisposing factor to the occurrence of PAME. 1K Analysis of the geographical distribution of PAME cases shows that the United States, Australia, Czechoslovakia, and Belgium account for the vast majority of PAME cases.…”

Section: Epidemiology Of Pamementioning

confidence: 93%

Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis:

Carter

1978

International Journal of Environmental Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A Case of Hartmannellid Amebic Meningoencephalitis in Zambia

Cited by 39 publications

References 0 publications

Acanthamoebaspp. as Agents of Disease in Humans

Acanthamoebaspp. as Agents of Disease in Humans

Presence of potentially pathogenic free-living amoebae strains from well water samples in Guinea-Bissau

Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis:

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About