Fatal

A drug for urinary tract infections may also work for ‘brain-eating’ amoeba infections, fatal for the vast majority of people who contract them. The drug’s promise was demonstrated in a recent case report that describes a 54-year-old man whose brain was infiltrated by the amoeba Balamuthia mandrillaris. The single-celled organism lives in dust, soil and water and can enter the body through skin wounds and cuts or through the lungs when it’s inhaled.