Balamuthia species

MICROBIOLOGY

• Free-living amoeba found worldwide in soil, dust, and water
• B. mandrillaris is the only known species
  • Discovered in 1986 at the San Diego Zoo in a pregnant mandrill (old-world monkey) with fatal meningoencephalitis[11]
• Two-stage life cycle
  1. Trophozoite, infective to humans and other mammals; pleomorphic, uni- or bi-nucleated, 12-60 μm [Fig]
  2. Cyst, resistant to anti-microbials; uninucleated spherules measuring 12-30 μm