Description of Pathogen Acanthamoeba are a genera of free-living amebae that can cause localized infection of the central nervous system (CNS), respiratory tract, skin, eyes, and disseminated disease. Nearly 25 named species and at least 20 genotypes of Acanthamoeba have…
Description of the Pathogen Naegleria fowleri is a free-living ameba that causes primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). , It is the only known species of the genus Naegleria pathogenic to humans amongst over 40 other identified species. Two other species, N.…
In addition to Entamoeba histolytica ( Chapter 263 ), amebae that can be found in the human intestinal tract include other species of Entamoeba ( E. dispar, E. moshkovskii , E. bangladeshi, E. coli, E. hartmannii, E. polecki), Endolimax nana…
Entamoeba histolytica is a “tissue-lysing” ( histo = tissue, lytic = lysing) ameba that can cause disease ranging from asymptomatic colonization to diarrhea, colitis, and liver abscess. It was first discovered in 1875 by Fedor Aleksandrovich Lösch, who described amebic…
Free-living amebae (FLAs) are aerobic, eukaryotic protists that comprise several genera. Clinically apparent infection of humans with FLAs is an infrequent but often fatal occurrence in both normal and immunocompromised individuals. Central nervous system (CNS) invasion by Naegleria fowleri, Acanthamoeba…