A woman in China has 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 slurred speech for several days.
Doctors thought he had a brain tumor because his scans showed a lesion.
However, a lumbar puncture (when 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 typically found in dust, soil and water, and is thought 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, as she lived near water sources such as ponds.
The woman spent eight days in the local hospital, where she gradually became confused and increasingly unable to speak.
Over the next few days, her airway became obstructed, causing her to be put on a ventilator.
“Despite aggressive treatment measures, the patient’s condition worsened,” the team wrote.
The patient died after her family decided to forego further treatment.
Balamuthia mandrillaris was first discovered in 1986 and only 200 cases have been reported worldwide, 100 of which in the United States.
The CDC estimates it kills 90 percent of patients and early treatment is crucial.
Once it enters the bloodstream, the amoeba travels to the brain, where it causes the infection granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE).
It is a free-living amoeba, similar to Naefleria fowleri, that is found in warm waters and has caused a number of cases in the United States in recent years.
According to the CDC, early symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, lethargy, and nausea.
However, as the condition progresses over weeks or months, it can cause seizures, weakness, confusion, partial paralysis, slurred speech, and difficulty walking.
The case report was published in the magazine. Helion.