Laboratory Diagnostic Methods: Balamuthia mandrillaris - LabCE.com, Laboratory Continuing Education

How to Subscribe

MLS & MLT Comprehensive CE Package Includes 178 CE courses, most popular	$109	Add to cart
Pick Your Courses Up to 8 CE hours	$55	Add to cart
Individual course	$25	Add to cart

Need multiple seats for your university or lab? Get a quote

The page below is a sample from the LabCE course Free-Living Amoeba as Agents of Infection. Access the complete course and earn ASCLS P.A.C.E.-approved continuing education credits by subscribing online.

Learn more about Free-Living Amoeba as Agents of Infection (online CE course)

Laboratory Diagnostic Methods: Balamuthia mandrillaris

Cerebrospinal fluid: elevated protein, lymphocytosis, normal glucose, and trophozoites are rarely seen in CSF.
PCR for detection of amoebic DNA, especially in brain tissue.
Detection of trophozoites in tissue (eg, brain biopsy). (Balamuthia is rarely seen in CSF; brain tissue is the specimen of choice for microscopic examination using hematoxylin and eosin [H&E] or periodic acid-Schiff [PAS] where cysts may be visualized.)

Indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) to detect antibodies developed against B. mandrillaris in serum. (However, the CDC no longer uses serology as a routine diagnostic test.) A more popular method is the use of immunohistochemistry (IHC) and indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) staining to detect the antigen using specific amoebic antibodies in tissue or CSF using microscopic examination.)¹⁴

Neuroimaging to look for the presence of space-occupying lesions. The image below demonstrates bilateral hemorrhagic & necrotic lesions in the frontal lobe.

14. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Website. Parasites - Balamuthia mandrillaris- Granulomatous Amebic Encephalitis (GAE). Diagnosis and detection section. Last reviewed September 4, 2019. Accessed November 17, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/balamuthia/