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Naegleria fowleri, colloquially known as the "brain-eating amoeba", is a species of the genus Naegleria, belonging to the phylum Percolozoa.[1] It is a free-living, bacteria-eating amoeba that can be pathogenic, causing a fulminant (sudden and severe) brain infection called naegleriasis, also known as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). This microorganism is typically found in bodies of warm freshwater, such as ponds, lakes, rivers, and hot springs. It is also found in the soil near warm-water discharges of industrial plants, and in unchlorinated or minimally-chlorinated swimming pools. It can be seen in either an amoeboid or temporary flagellate stage.[2]

Infections most often occur when water containing N. fowleri is inhaled through the nose, where it then enters the nasal and olfactory nerve tissue, traveling to the brain through the cribriform plate.[7] N. fowleri normally eat bacteria, but during human infections, the trophozoites consume astrocytes and neurons.

The core antimicrobial treatment consists of antifungal drug amphotericin B,[10] but the fatality rate even with this treatment is greater than 95%.[11] New treatments are being sought.[12] Miltefosine, an antiparasitic, has been used in a few cases with mixed results.[13]