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Necrotizing Meningoencephalitis and Pneumonitis in a Simian Immunodeficiency Virus–infected Rhesus Macaque due to Acanthamoeba

Divisions of Comparative Pathology (SVW, JR, JM, CR) and Primate Resources (D-LX, KGM), New England Primate Research Center, Harvard Medical School, One Pine Hill Drive, Southborough, MA; and Division of Parasitic Diseases, Chamblee Campus, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA (GSV)

Free-living amoebae of the genus Acanthamoeba can cause a fatal disease of the brain in humans called granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. We present a case of meningoencephalitis and pneumonitis in a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)–infected rhesus macaque caused by Acanthamoeba sp. The animal became ill 176 days after intravenous inoculation with SIVmac251 after a short history of weight loss and a sudden onset of hind limb paresis and abnormal head movements. Histopathologic examination of hematoxylin and eosin–stained tissues revealed multifocal to coalescing necrotizing neutrophilic meningoencephalitis and pneumonitis. Immunofluorescence and polymerase chain reaction were used to identify the genus of amoeba as Acanthamoeba. Immunohistochemistry of immune cell markers was used to characterize the animal's immune response to the opportunistic amoebic infection with features of both innate and adaptive cell-mediated immunity. Although not previously reported, the potential transmission to humans, either through environmental contamination or contact with an infected animal, makes this disease a threat to laboratory animal care staff and pathologists.

Key words: Acanthamoeba; amoebas; immunosuppression; meningoencephalitis; pneumonitis; rhesus macaque; SIV.

Request reprints from Dr. S. V. Westmoreland, Division of Comparative Pathology, New England Primate Research Center, Harvard Medical School, One Pine Hill Drive, Southborough, MA 01772 (USA). E-mail: swestmoreland{at}hms.harvard.edu

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