The microbe Naegleria fowleri, commonly known as a brain-eating amoeba, was first identified from a fatal case of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) in Australia in 1961. 1965, three more cases of fatal PAM were found, from which clinical and laboratory investigations showed a relationship with acute bacterial meningitis among cases of unknown etiology. According to Fowler and Carter (1965), when examining the bodies after death, researchers found that "microscopically, the meningeal exudate consisted of approximately equal proportions of neutrophilic leukocytes and chronic inflammatory cells, including small amoebae, often degenerated, were poorly distributed. » (p.740). The species of organism causing amoeboflagellate illness was later named Naegleria fowleri in honor of one of the report's lead authors, Dr. Fowler. Butt reports that the first case of PAM in the United States occurred in Florida in 1962 and that another retrospective study reported by dos Santos Netos suggested that other identified cases of PAM in Virginia could date back to 1937 (as cited in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2013, Pathogen). As research into the microbe ensues, more cases of PAM begin to surface and the search for a cure for this deadly infection is imperative. The life cycle of Naegleria fowleri includes three different stages: amoeboid trophozoites, flagellates and cysts; Due to the transient nature of the microbe and the specific forms it can take, it is frequently referred to as amoeboflagellate. Despite its ability to take various forms, the amoeboid trophozoite is the only infectious stage of the microbe and it requires a favorable environment...... middle of article ......e, J., & Pernin, P (1998). Genetic variation in the free-living amoeba Naegleria fowleri. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 64(8), 2977-2981. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC106802/pdf/am002977.pdf Trabelsi, H., Dendana, F., Sellami, A., Sellami, H., Cheikhrouhou, F ., Neji, S.,… Ayadi, A. (2012). Free-living pathogenic amoebae: epidemiology and clinical review. Pathology Biology, 60(6), 399-405. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.baylor.edu/science/article/pii/S0369811412000211 Visvesvara, G.S., Moura, H., & Schuster, F.L. (2007). Pathogenic and opportunistic free-living amoebae: Acanthamoeba spp., Balamuthia mandarillaris, Naegleria fowleri and Sappinia diploidea. FEMS Immunology and Medical Microbiology, 50(1), 1-26. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1574-695X.2007.00232.x/pdf