An infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, more commonly known as Brain-eating amoeba claims child’s life in the United States. Minor was swimming in the shallow part of the Nebraska Riverthe amoeba’s preferred location when it became infected.
According to a report from The newspaper “New York TimesState health authorities confirmed that the amoeba was the cause of the child’s death. Lindsey Hughes, head of the Douglas County Department of Health, confirmed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still testing the body.
According to officials, the minor went with his family to Elkhorn Lake, located in eastern Nebraska. The boy was exposed to the amoeba while swimming in shallow water, a favorite habitat for Naegleria fowleri. Subsequently, developed primary amoebic meningoencephalitisa type of encephalitis that is fatal in 95% of cases.
Here’s how to get a brain-eating amoeba
“The brain-eating amoeba likes shallow water with little movement. They can live in temperatures as low as 20 degrees but prefer warm water between 30 and 42 degrees,” he said. hypertext Dr. Jacob Lorenzo-Morales, Director and Research Fellow at the University Institute of Tropical Diseases and Public Health of the Canary Islands (IUETSPC).
In case of being in recreational waters, people risk getting infected by diving. Lorenzo-Morales mentioned that once found in the nasal epithelium, amoebae migrate to the brain to eat it.
An IUETSPC researcher discovered a brain-eating amoeba infection in a 10-year-old girl who contracted the infection while swimming in a public pool in Spain. Unlike the American minor, girl survived due to early detection de Lorenzo-Morales and other specialists.
Dr. Kari Niemann, from the Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said that the chance of contracting this amoeba is higher when swimming in warm shallow water.
What are the symptoms and what is the treatment
symptom They appear between one and twelve days after infection and consist of headache, fever, nausea, and stiff neck. As the disease progresses, the patient develops seizures or hallucinations.
Brain-eating infections, amoebas, are rare. The United States reports 0 to 8 cases per year, and only 154 cases have been confirmed since 1965. no cureexperimental treatment with miltefosine and amphotericin B.
According to Dr. Lorenzo-Morales, global warming will create comfortable conditions for the amoeba. The best way to avoid infection is avoid swimming in shallow, still water. Similarly, limit the possibility of water entering the nose.
Source: Hiper Textual
