7/29/2019 Pam Notes Unsolved

1/2

Primary Amoebic Meningoenchepalitis (PAM)

Symptoms

Stage One: Severe frontal headache, fever, nausea, vomiting

Stage Two: Stiff neck, seizures, _____________________________, hallucinations, coma

Cause

-When water containing the bacteria _________________________ enters the nose, the amoeba

migrates to the brain

-This cannot be caused by _______________ the water! It must go in through your olfactory

passage.

-PAM kills 98% of its victims.

Naegleria Fowleri

-A free-living form of a _____________ typically found in warm bodies of fresh water.

-It is also found in soil, near warm-water discharges of industrial plants, and un-chlorinated or poorly chlorinated swimming pools

- Usually, it is in an amoeboid or temporary flagellate stage.

-There is no evidence of this organism living in salt water.

Transmission

-It is caused by the exposure of the _______________ canal to warm water contaminated by

Naegleria Fowleri

-It cannot be transmitted through contact with others who get it

-Currently, there are no known ___________

-There is considerable evidence stating that organ transfers and other _______________ meanscause PAM as well

Epidemiology

-1937: Disease suspectedin Virginia (not diagnosed until the 60s)

-1961: First infections reported

-1961: First diagnosis of the disease

-1965: Disease reported in _____________

-PAM is a pandemic, and can occur anywhere:

Southern Pakistan, July 2012

Australia, 1965United States, 1965

______________________(Czech Republic), 1963-1965

When are you at risk?

-Swimming or bathing in ponds, lakes, rivers, hot-springs, or any other warm body of water

-When swimming in pools that are not __________________ (or poorly chlorinated)

7/29/2019 Pam Notes Unsolved

2/2

-Receiving organ transplants from patients who were infected

-Any other iatrogenic means, such as being in contact with contaminated medical instruments

Treatment

-Prompt intravenous administration of ___________ doses of Amphotericin B

-Rifampicin has also been used with Amphotericin B in a successful treatment-Phenothizaine Chlorpromacine: a highly effective drug used to treat similar diseases

-Success of treating PAM is __________________. There have only been 2 survivors in history,

one of which was in the United StatesPrognosis for the Future

-There is a minimal chance of a _____________ because of the chlorination standards of

swimming pools, and a low traffic to infected waters

-PAM will continue to be a threat in humans, due to its extremely high kill rate, and the

inefficiency of disinfecting all water sources in the world