<unk> , colloquially known as a "brain-eating amoeba", is a species of the genus<unk> , belonging to the phylum Percolozoa, which is technically not classified as true amoeba, but a shapeshifting amoeboflagellate excavate. It is a free-living, bacteria-eating microorganism that can be pathogenic, causing an extremely rare sudden, severe and usually fatal brain infection called<unk> sis or primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). This microorganism is typically found in bodies of warm freshwater, such as ponds, lakes, rivers, hot springs, warm water discharge from industrial or power plants, geothermal well water, poorly maintained or minimally chlorinated (under 0.5 mg/m3 residual) swimming pools, water heaters, soil, and pipes connected to tap water. It can be seen in either an amoeboid or temporary flagellate stage. The<unk> sis infection has been documented in Australia in 1965, Czechoslovakia in 1962 to 1965, the United States in 2003, 2011, 2013, 2020, and 2021, and Pakistan in 2008.
Naegleria fowleri
Mycoplasma pirum
Mycoplasma incognitus
Mycoplasma orale
Mycobacterium orygis
Alternaria tenuissima
Wolfiporia extensa
Cyclospora cayetanensis