Naegleria fowleri: An amoeba that eats your brain

This comprehensive review aims to alert and educate physicians, pharmacists, healthcare professionals, and the general public to the emerging threat of Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) that is a rare but potentially fatal neurological disease caused by the free-living amoeba Naegleria fowleri. Thermophilic amoeba Naegleria fowleri is a serious hazard to human health. Swimming in freshwater bodies or rinsing one’s nose with contaminated water may lead to exposure to N. fowleri-infected water, which can cause primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. PAM causes total brain tissue damage, which puts the patient in a coma and ultimately results in death. An extensive summary of the biology, epidemiology, symptoms, diagnosis, and available treatments for N. fowleri is given in this review article.