Brain Eating Amoeba

Brain Eating Amoeba

Context:

A 12-year-old boy from Feroke, undergoing treatment for primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, died on Wednesday, marking the third death from this rare infection in Kerala in the past two months.

Relevance:
GS-02 GS-03 (Health, Environment)

About Naegleria fowleri:

• Naegleria fowleri, commonly known as the brain-eating amoeba, is a species belonging to the genus Naegleria. It is part of the phylum Percolozoa and is classified as an amoeboflagellate excavate, distinguishing it from true amoebas.
• It lives throughout the world in warm and shallow bodies of fresh water, such as lakes, rivers and hot springs.
• It also lives in soil.
• It’s considered a free-living organism because it doesn’t need a host to live.
• Class: Heterolobosea
• Genus: Naegleria
• Scientific Name: Naegleria fowleri
• Domain: Eukaryota
• Family: Vahlkampfiidae
• Order: Schizopyrenida
• Phylum: Percolozoa

How does one get infected?

• Most common way of being infected by this type of amoeba happens when infected water goes into your nose.
• From there, the amoeba goes to your brain.
• This usually happens when you’re swimming, diving or doing something like water skiing in infected water.
• In extremely rare cases, the infected water can be heated tap water or swimming pool water that isn’t chlorinated enough.

Symptoms:

• Incubation period: It takes about two to 15 days after you’ve been exposed to the amoeba for symptoms to develop.
• High fever.
• Very painful headache.
• Nausea and vomiting. Trembling.
• Symptoms like those of meningitis, including a stiff neck and extreme sensitivity to light (photophobia).
• Mental confusion.
• Coma.
• The fatality rate is higher than 97% even with treatment.