The doctors thought the 77-year-old woman had cancer. Then they discovered she had a brain-eating amoeba
A woman in China died from a rare brain-eating amoeba after doctors initially mistook it for cancer.
The unnamed patient, 77, visited her local hospital in 2022 after complaining of dizziness, confusion and difficulty speaking for several days.
Doctors thought she was suffering from a brain tumor as her scans showed a lesion.
However, a lumbar puncture – where a needle is inserted into the spine to test fluids – revealed that she was infected with Balamuthia mandrillaris, a single-celled organism that spreads to the brain and kills nine out of 10 patients.
Doctors highlighted an area on the patient’s brain scans that they initially thought was a tumor. However, it turned out to be a brain-eating amoeba
Balamuthia mandrillaris (B mandrillaris) is commonly found in dust, soil and water and is believed to cause infections when it comes into contact with open wounds or when inhaled through the lungs.
The Chinese woman’s medical team wrote that she likely became infected due to her rural environment, living close to water sources such as ponds.
The woman spent eight days in her local hospital, gradually becoming confused and increasingly unable to speak.
Over the next few days, her airway became obstructed, requiring her to be placed on a ventilator.
“Despite aggressive treatment measures, the patient’s condition worsened,” the team wrote.
The patient died after her family chose to forego further treatment.
Balamuthia mandrillaris was first discovered in 1986 and only 200 cases have been reported worldwide, 100 of which are in the US.
The CDC estimates that 90 percent of patients die from this, and early treatment is critical.
Once the amoeba enters the bloodstream, it travels to the brain, where it causes the infection granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE).
It is a free-living amoeba, similar to Naefleria fowleri, that is found in warm waters and has caused a surge of cases in the US in recent years.
According to the CDC, early symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, lethargy and nausea.
However, as the condition progresses over weeks to months, it can lead to seizures, weakness, confusion, partial paralysis, difficulty speaking, and difficulty walking.
The case report was published in the journal Heliyon.