Boy dies of PAM A CALIFORNIA boy who was on life support after he contracted a brain-eating amoeba likely while swimming in a lake has died, his family recently told news outlets. David Pruitt, 7, had been flown to UC Davis Medical Center on July 30, according to the family’s fundraising page. About a week later, the boy died. His aunt, Crystal Hayley, said he was diagnosed with primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a rare, devastating infection of the brain. According to the Tehama County Health Services Agency, there have only been 10 PAM cases reported in California since 1971. PAM is caused by Naegleria fowleri, also known as a brain-eating amoeba, which is found in warm freshwater and soil. It usually infects people when contaminated water enters the body through the nose, and travels to the brain where it causes PAM. Most PAM cases are fatal. Arthritis drug for COVID-19 THE European Medicines Agency has started an accelerated review process to determine if a common arthritis drug might help people hospitalized with severe COVID-19, months after the drug was granted an emergency use authorization in the U.S. In a statement Monday, the EU drug regulator said it was assessing an application to extend the use of tocilizumab for adults suffering from severe coronavirus in the hospital, who were already being treated with other steroids or required extra oxygen, including via a ventilator. Tocilizumab is an anti-inflammatory drug currently used to treat adults and children with severe arthritis. In June, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted the drug an emergency use authorization and the World Health Organization recommended its use last month for people who are critically ill with COVID-19. (SD-Agencies) | 