Federal health officials verified last week that a Nebraska child who had recently swam in a river close to Omaha in Nebraska died from a rare ailment brought on by a brain-eating amoeba.
Douglas County Department of Health in Omaha, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), said healthcare experts found naegleria fowleri amoeba in the child.
Health authorities believe the boy contracted the illness while swimming in the Elkhorn River on Sunday, a few miles west of Omaha. Associated Press (via USA Today) mentioned that authorities did not disclose the child's name.
Brain-Eating Amoeba Kills Child in Nebraska
A report from 9News AU mentioned that the child was admitted to the hospital 48 hours after the beginning of symptoms. Unfortunately, after obtaining medical attention, the victim passed away.
Dr. Kari Neemann, a pediatric infectious disease doctor for Douglas County, reaffirmed this information.
On the other side, the Nebraska Department of Health stated that Naegleria Fowleri might result in PAM (primary amebic meningoencephalitis), a brain infection.
The health group claimed that infection with the brain-eating bacterium will always be lethal regardless of how infrequently it occurs.
"We can only imagine the devastation this family must be feeling, and our deepest condolences are with them," the Douglas County health director, Dr. Lindsay Huse, said in a statement.
"We can honor the memory of this child by becoming educated about the risk and then taking steps to prevent infection," Huse added.
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Facts About Brain-Eating Amoeba
In the United States, warm rivers, freshwater lakes, ponds, and canals are frequently home to Naegleria Fowleri.
Dr. Matthew Donahue, an epidemiologist from Nebraska, explained that this infection with the brain-eating amoeba is extremely uncommon.
"Millions of recreational water exposures occur each year, while only 0 to 8 Naegleria fowleri infections are identified each year," Donahue told CNN Health.
As a result, many individuals choose to ignore this. However, Donahue offered advice on how to prevent contracting this microorganism without endangering your swimming activities.
He clarified that keeping freshwater out of people's nostrils is the greatest thing they can do. Although it doesn't always work, this can lessen the risk of infection.
Why Brain-Eating Amoeba Cases Increase in the US
Health officials in Nebraska claim that illnesses are recorded further north when temperatures increase, and water levels decrease in the late summer due to climate change.
Live Science, citing a 2019 study published in the journal Trends in Parasitology, mentioned that the pathogen's distribution is anticipated to grow as global temperatures rise.
The olfactory nerve, the mucous membrane of the nose, and the brain are all points of entry for the amoeba that causes death. There, it leads to a primary amoebic meningoencephalitis disorder, characterized by brain tissue enlargement, degeneration, and inflammation.
Symptoms such as fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, disorientation, and seizures typically begin five days after exposure. Five days after symptoms start, death generally happens.
According to the CDC, the initial symptoms are identical to those of the far more prevalent and easily treated illness bacterial meningitis. Therefore anybody having these symptoms should consult a doctor right once. No one can get the illness from another.
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