Nasal carriage of Naegleria fowleri and its environmental occurrence in Borno State, Nigeria.

The presence of free living amoebae was investigated in the nasal passages of 50 healthy children and in environmental sources in Maiduguri, Borno State of Nigeria. Three of the children yielded positive cultures of Naegleria fowleri. All the five water samples and two of the nine soil samples examined from different localities were positive for N. fowleri. The isolates proved pathogenic for laboratory mice causing a fatal meningoencephalitis. The epidemiological significance of the findings is discussed.