Naegleria Fowleri: Rare Brain-Eating Amoeba Infected 154 Individuals, Spreading Further Midwest

An uncommon, brain-eating amoeba looks to be spreading wider across the United Places, infecting individuals living in states where it is not normally seen. Naegleria fowleri is one freshwater amoeba (a single-celled creature that moves by crawling) that dwells among other Naegleria species in lakes, rivers, and hot springs. It distinguishes itself from the other innocuous species in that if, given the opportunity, it will gobble the human brain.

Fowleri exists as the only variety of naegleria that really can infect people, usually in warmer temperatures and shallow bodies of water where it flourishes. Infections (albeit extremely rare) are often picked up when people submerge their heads in the water, with the amoeba going up the nostril and into the brain, causing primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mentioned that the disease is "nearly invariably lethal" at 97%.

Brain-Eating Amoeba

Once within the brain, it kills brain tissue, causing symptoms similar to bacterial meningitis, such as migraine, fever, stiff neck, and disorientation. Patients experience loss of concentration, convulsions, and coma, and the sickness generally kills them within five days after the commencement of symptoms. Only four of the 154 individuals known to have been affected by the bacterium since 1962 have survived.

Infections are, luckily, extremely rare, with just 31 infections documented in the previous decade. However, as temperatures rise, the regions where the amoeba has just been detected (and afflicted individuals) have spread further throughout the United States.

Other causes have been identified, including contaminated water from the tap in a Houston suburb in 2020. Fever, headache, nausea, or vomiting are common symptoms, which might proceed to a stiff neck, balance problems, hallucinations, and seizures. Texas and Florida had the highest illnesses, with 39 and 37 cases, respectively, and the amoeba is usually found in southern states because it thrives in water temperatures above 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 Celsius).

High Humidity Affecting the Surroundings

One research team examined PAM cases and temperature records for the area where another infection was discovered, comparing it to historical information for the same location from 20 years ago. The scientists said in the paper, posted in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Researchers detected a rise in air temperatures in the two weeks preceding exposures relative to 20-year historical means. The cases that have increased in the Midwestern United States since 2010 and increases in the maximum and median latitude of PAM case exposures show that N is moving northward. In the United States, fowleri exposures have been linked to lakes, lagoons, reservoirs, streams, rivers, and outdoor aquatic facilities.

The CDC has not yet issued official data for 2022; however, as Insider reported, the instances appear to be spreading further north, with a deadly case being discovered for the first time in an Iowa lake. The same was true in Nebraska, where a youngster died of the sickness, which tends to affect individuals aged 14 and under, probably due to greater contact with the amoeba during water play.

Douglas County Health Director General Doctor Lindsey Huse stated during a press conference shortly after the death of a toddler in Nebraska that their areas are growing warmer. As temperatures warm up, water heats the air, and water levels drop due to drought, you can see that this creature is much happier and grows more often under such conditions. As the climatic catastrophe worsens, the illness will certainly spread further north.

Check out more news and information on Naegleria Fowleri in Science Times.