Brain eating amoeba

“If we had more awareness, better support, more people working on this, then we could possibly come up with better diagnostics and better treatments in a reasonable amount of time, and avoid these devastating things that are happening,” Kyle said. by Talia Naquin and Michael Bartiromo | Jun. 12, 2023 Story at a glance • Naegleria fowleri, commonly called “brain-eating amoeba,” is rare – there are only about 3 cases per year, but it’s almost always fatal. • Naegleria fowleri infects people in only one way: when water containing the amoeba enters the body through the nose, according to the CDC. • There are some steps you can take to reduce your risk, such as avoiding warm, non-chlorinated freshwater, swimming with your head above water, avoiding jumping or diving, and using nose plugs. ( Naegleria fowleriis naturally found in warm freshwater environments such as lakes and rivers, or hot springs, but can also be found in water discharge from industrial or power plants, geothermal well water, poorly maintained or minimally chlorinated swimming pools, water heaters, and soil, according to People who become infected develop a condition called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). “This is not like a bacterial infection which we have antibiotics or a viral infection where we have antivirals,” Alexander said. “We don’t have medicine to get rid of the amoeba.” Where is it found? Naegleria fowleri is typically found in warm water with temperatures of 80 degrees Fahrenheit or hig...

Health officials say a child likely died from a rare infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba after swimming in the Elkhorn River in eastern Nebraska. Photograph: Chris Machian/AP Health officials say a child likely died from a rare infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba after swimming in the Elkhorn River in eastern Nebraska. Photograph: Chris Machian/AP T he Naegleria fowleri – more commonly known as brain-eating amoeba – back in the headlines. The amoeba lives in warm, fresh water and can enter the body through the nose, where it travels to the brain and starts to destroy tissue. The case underscored a troubling new reality – climate change is encouraging the amoeba to pop up in parts of the US where it isn’t typical, such as the north and west. Read more Naegleria grows best in warm waters – temperatures above 30C, and can tolerate temperatures of up to 46C, says Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona. That makes it well-suited to spread in a warming climate. “It likes warm surface waters during the summer in the northern latitudes,” he says. The amoeba causes an illness called In the US, Naegleria has typically been limited to the southern states, but in recent years it has spread steadily northward. A Outbreaks have mostly been associated with swimming in lakes, though an outbreak in Arizona stemmed from use of Naegleria was growing in a well. Previous cases have also shown people contracting the infection through contaminated water used for...

Deadly "brain-eating" amoeba infections usually strike people in southern U.S. states, but thanks to climate change, the brain-invading organism has expanded its range northward. In light of this trend, the Ohio Public Health Association recently published a case report to raise awareness of the disease among health care providers in the state. "Increased incidence of N. fowleri [a species of brain-eating amoeba] in northern climates is but one of many ways climate change threatens human health and merits novel education of health care providers," the case report authors wrote in a paper published May 16 in the Ohio Journal of Public Health. Naegleria fowleri is a single-cell organism that typically lives in soil and warm fresh water, as well as the occasional water tank, heater or pipe, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In rare instances, the amoeba can infiltrate the human brain and spinal cord by first entering a person's nose — but it cannot reach the brain if swallowed in a gulp of water, for instance, and it doesn't spread between people. N. fowleri causes an infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), which is nearly always fatal. PAM is rare — since 1962, about zero to eight cases have been reported nationwide each year, the case report noted. Most of these infections have been linked to swimming in the South, particularly in Florida and Texas, but since 2010, cases have started to occur in more northern states, inclu...

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