Granulomatous amoebic encephalitis caused by Acanthamoeba in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus

A 25-year-old chronically immunosuppressed woman with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) died after developing subacute granulomatous encephalitis caused by Acanthamoeba. Amoebic trophozoites were also found in the lung, suggesting a primary pulmonary focus of infection. The infectious encephalitis was difficult to differentiate from a flare-up of central nervous system lupus. This case illustrates that Acanthamoeba can cause fatal encephalitis in lupus patients, as well as in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome as previously reported. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of granulomatous amoebic encephalitis due to Acanthamoeba in a patient with SLE.