Successful Treatment of Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis

PRIMARY amebic meningoencephalitis, caused by infection with the free-living amebas of the genera naegleria or acanthamoeba, was first reported in 1965 by Fowler and Carter in Australia.1 Soon after that, the disease was reported in Eastern Europe2 and the United States.3 , 4 Approximately 100 presumptive or parasitologically proved cases of primary amebic meningoencephalitis have been described.5 According to these reports, three patients with naegleria primary amebic meningoencephalitis have survived this infection.5 None of these cases occurred in the United States.This report describes the successful treatment of a patient who acquired primary amebic meningoencephalitis in California.Case ReportThree days before . . .