Capt. Matt Moore, a 17-year veteran of Murrieta fire department fell ill in November. A biopsy made in January showed that his illness is caused by an infection from the brain-eating amoeba. He died Monday due to complications of meningoencephalitis.
Balamuthia mandrillaris is a free-living leptomyxid amoeba which is known to cause disease in humans, especially the deadly neurological condition known as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. Balamuthia has not been definitively isolated in nature, but it is believed to be distributed throughout the temperate regions of the world.
It enters the body through the lower respiratory tract or through open wounds. Upon introduction, the amoebas may form a skin lesion, or migrate to the brain. Once in the brain, Balamuthia causes a condition known as granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE), which is usually fatal.
The disease was first identified in 1990 after a mandrill baboon at the San Diego Wild Animal park was infected.
A 2004 study by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta showed that the amoeba is particularly prevalent in California, where at least 11 cases have been reported.
