Emerging Infectious Diseases (Jan 2021)

Geographic Range of Recreational Water–Associated Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis, United States, 1978–2018

  • Radhika Gharpure,
  • Michelle Gleason,
  • Zainab Salah,
  • Anna J. Blackstock,
  • David Hess-Homeier,
  • Jonathan S. Yoder,
  • Ibne Karim M. Ali,
  • Sarah A. Collier,
  • Jennifer R. Cope

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2701.202119
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 27, no. 1
pp. 271 – 274

Abstract

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Naegleria fowleri is a free-living ameba that causes primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a rare but usually fatal disease. We analyzed trends in recreational water exposures associated with PAM cases reported during 1978–2018 in the United States. Although PAM incidence remained stable, the geographic range of exposure locations expanded northward.

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