AMEBIC MENINGOENCEPHALITIS

Course overview

AMEBIC ENCEPHALITIS IS A RARE BUT LETHAL CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM INFECTION CAUSED BY FREE-LIVING AMOEBAE FOUND IN FRESHWATER, LAKES, AND RIVERS. THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF AMEBIC ENCEPHALITIS, NAMELY PRIMARY MENINGOENCEPHALITIS (PAM) AND GRANULOMATOUS AMEBIC ENCEPHALITIS (GAE). THE INITIAL SYMPTOMS OF PAM ARE INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM BACTERIAL MENINGITIS, WHILE THE SYMPTOMS OF GAE CAN MIMIC A BRAIN ABSCESS, ENCEPHALITIS, OR MENINGITIS. THESE INFECTIONS ARE ALMOST UNIFORMLY FATAL. THE MORTALITY RATE IS ABOVE 90%, DESPITE ANTIMICROBIAL THERAPY. THIS ACTIVITY DISCUSSES THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM, DESCRIBES THE CAUSATIVE AGENT OF AMEBIC MENINGOENCEPHALITIS, ITS PATHOPHYSIOLOGY, THE CLINICAL PRESENTATION, AND HIGHLIGHTS MEASURES OF PREVENTION.