Cryptococcal meningitis was always fatal until the antifungal drug, amphotericin B, came into use six years ago.
The worst, victims agree, is amphotericin B, known as "Ampho the Terrible" to those who have to have it injected into the base of their skull for meningitis.
In the beginning, treatment consisted of high doses of intravenous amphotericin B, which patients quickly dubbed "amphoterrible" because of its nauseating side effects.