Notes from the field: transplant-transmitted Balamuthia mandrillaris --- Arizona, 2010.

Encephalitis Caused by Pathogens Transmitted through Organ Transplants, United States, 2002–2013

The cause of encephalitis among solid organ transplant recipients may be multifactorial; the disease can result from infectious or noninfectious etiologies. During 2002-2013, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigated several encephalitis clusters among transplant recipients. Cases were caused by infections from transplant-transmitted pathogens: West Nile virus, rabies virus...

Balamuthia mandrillaris meningoencephalitis: survival of a pediatric patient.

Balamuthia mandrillaris infections are rare and almost always fatal. This ameba is a naturally occurring soil inhabitant that can cause disease in immunocompetent hosts, with early diagnosis typically proving difficult. We recently cared for a previously healthy 2-year-old boy who was diagnosed with meningoencephalitis secondary to B mandrillaris relatively early in his presentation, which enab...

Etymologia: Balamuthia mandrillaris

Successful treatment of Balamuthia mandrillaris amoebic infection with extensive neurological and cutaneous involvement.

Granulomatous amoebic encephalitis caused by Balamuthia mandrillaris is an uncommon infection for which there is no optimal therapy. We describe a young, female patient who presented with extensive cutaneous and neurological involvement and who recovered after receiving prolonged treatment with miltefosine, fluconazole, and albendazole.

Identification of Balamuthia mandrillaris by PCR assay using the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene as a target.

Balamuthia mandrillaris is an opportunistic pathogen that causes granulomatous amebic meningoencephalitis in animals, including humans. Based on sequence analysis of mitochondrial small-subunit-rRNA genes, we developed primers that amplify a Balamuthia-specific PCR product. These primers will be useful for retrospective analyses of fixed tissues and possible identification of Balamuthia in vivo.