Naegleria fowleri

Naegleria fowleri Latest News

Scientists have figured out how Naegleria fowleri amoebae go from the nose to the brain, with N. gruberi as a proxy.

About Naegleria fowleri

• It is commonly known as “brain-eating amoeba,” is a single-cell organism.
• Habitat: It thrives in warm freshwater lakes, ponds and rivers. It can also survive in poorly maintained swimming pools in rare cases. 
• Only one species of Naegleria, Naegleria fowleri, infects people.
• It causes Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis or PAM.
• Humans Infection Process
  • It is typically acquired through the nasal passage and mouth when a person goes swimming, diving.
  • The amoeba then migrates through the olfactory nerve to the brain, where it causes severe inflammation and destruction of brain tissue.
  • The Naegleria fowleri infection does not spread from person to person, nor does it manifest symptoms when contracted in other forms.
  • The infection is primarily associated with a warm freshwater environment, especially during hot summer months when water temperatures are higher.

Key facts about Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis

• It is caused by Naegleria fowleri. 
• It is non-communicable and people cannot get infected with Naegleria fowleri from drinking water contaminated with the amoeba.
• Symptoms
  • It includes headache, fever, nausea and vomiting. Later on, the patient may have a stiff neck and experience confusion, seizures, hallucinations and slip into a state of coma.
  • Most people with PAM die within 1 to 18 days after symptoms begin. It usually leads to coma and death after 5 days.
• Treatment
  • There are no effective treatments for the disease yet.
  • At present, doctors treat it with a combination of drugs, including amphotericin B, azithromycin, fluconazole, rifampin, miltefosine, and dexamethasone.

Source: TH

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