The brain-eating amoeba in water reported in South Korea, know Parasite Symptoms and causes
Parasite Symptoms
Naegleria is a single-celled living organism that is microscopic in existence. Naegleria fowleri, the amoeba infiltrates people through the nose.
Amid Covid-19 surge in China, there is another virus reported in South Korea, ‘Naegleria Fowleri’.
South Korea reports a first case of 50 year old man who died with this infection. According to a report in The Korea Times, the man who had stayed in Thailand for four months before returning to Korea on December 10, died after being infected with Naegleria fowleri. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) confirmed the findings.
What is brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri?
The scientific name for this brain-eating amoeba is ‘Naegleria fowleri’, and it is a microscopic single-celled organism found in warm freshwater bodies like lakes, rivers and hot springs.
How does it infect people?
The amoeba enters the body through infected water bodies. People who often go for swimming or diving end up getting in contact with these infected water bodies contaminated with amoeba.
The amoeba as per the United States Centres for Disease Control (CDC) travels up your nose and enters the brain cavity where it slowly destroys brain tissue and causes a rare but usually fatal infection called Primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).
Similarly, people who don’t go for swimming in these contaminated water bodies but just use it for cleaning nose can also end up with this infection.
Geographical Location of brain eating Amoeba
The brain eating amoeba was first discovered in United States of America in the year 1937. According to CDC, it is spotted in fresh water bodies in the US in the months of July, August and September which are usually warm.
Moreover, this amoeba is not present in salty or saline water. The temperature at which this organism proliferates is high temperature of up to 46 degree Celsius.
Reported cases of amoeba
On December 26th 2022, first case was reported in South Korea. Apart from that from 2012-2021, an average of five cases were diagnosed annually in the US. However, in 2018, a total of 381 cases have been reported from US, India and Thailand.
What are the symptoms of brain infection?
Common symptoms that start after about five days of infection include fever, nausea and vomiting. Other symptoms that happen at a later stage of infection are a stiff neck, confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, seizures, hallucinations, and coma. Ultimately it destroys brain tissue, causing swelling in the brain and ultimately death.
The disease progresses rapidly and generally death happens between one to five days after the infection. In almost 97 per cent of cases, the infection turns fatal.
Is it transmissible?
No, the Naegleria fowleri infection cannot be spread from one person to another.
What are the treatment options for Naegleria fowleri?
Currently, no treatment for the amoeba exists. This is mainly due to the rare nature of this infection.
While currently reported cases of this deadly amoeba are rare, as climate change and global warming heat up the planet, this heat-loving amoeba may thrive making infections common.
