Naegleria fowleri-associated encephalitis in a cow from Costa Rica

Species of Naegleria, Acanthamoeba, and Balamuthia are soil amoebae that can cause encephalitis in animals and humans. Of these, Naegleria fowleri is the cause of often fatal primary meningoencephalitis in humans. N. fowleri-associated encephalitis was diagnosed in a cow that was suspected to have rabies. Only formalin-fixed brain was available for diagnosis. There was severe meningoencephalitis involving all parts of the brain and numerous amoebic trophozoites were present in lesions. The amoebae reacted with N. fowleri-specific polyclonal antibodies in an indirect immunofluorescent antibody test. This is the first report of amoebic encephalitis in any host from Costa Rica.Las especies de Naegleria, Acanthamoeba y Balamuthia son amebas del suelo que pueden causar encefalitis en animales y humanos. De ellas, Naegleria fowleri es la causa de una meningoencefalitis primaria a menudo mortal en el ser humano. La encefalitis asociada a N. fowleri se diagnosticó en una vaca que se sospechaba que tenía rabia. Sólo se disponía de un cerebro fijado con formol para el diagnóstico. Había una meningoencefalitis grave que afectaba a todas las partes del cerebro y numerosos trofozoitos amebianos estaban presentes en las lesiones. Las amebas reaccionaron con anticuerpos policlonales específicos de N. fowleri en una prueba de inmunofluorescencia indirecta. Este es el primer informe de encefalitis amebiana en cualquier huésped de Costa Rica.Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica.Escuela de Medicina Veterinari

CYTOLOGIC DIAGNOSIS OF ACANTHAMOEBA-KERATITIS - REPORT OF A CASE WITH CORRELATIVE STUDY WITH INDIRECT IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE AND SCANNING ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY

We describe a case of Acanthamoeba keratitis in a 20-year-old woman who wore disposable soft contact lenses. The diagnosis was made initially on the basis of a periodic acid-Schiff-stained corneal smear and subsequently confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and immunofluorescence. The patient was successfully treated with a combination of 0.053% polyhexamethylene biguanide and miconazole. Cytologic study and culture of corneal scrapings is relatively painless and inexpensive and may therefore be used for successful diagnosis and follow-up

Disseminated microsporidiosis caused by Encephalitozoon cuniculi III (dog type) in an Italian AIDS patient: a retrospective study

We report a case of disseminated microsporidiosis in an Italian woman with AIDS. This study was done retrospectively using formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue specimens obtained at autopsy. Microsporidia spores were found in the necrotic lesions of the liver, kidney, and adrenal gland and in ovary, brain, heart, spleen, lung, and lymph nodes. The infecting agent was identified as belonging to the genus Encephalitozoon based on transmission electron microscopy and indirect immunofluorescence. Additional molecular studies, including sequence of the rDNA internal transcribed spacer region, identified the agent as E. cuniculi, Genotype III. We believe that this is the first report of a human case of disseminated microsporidial infection involving the ovary