Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Naegleria fowleri

Mains level: Not Much

naegleria

South Korea reported its first case of infection from Naegleria fowleri or “brain-eating amoeba”.

What is Naegleria fowleri (Amoeba)?

Amoeba is a type of cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending and retracting pseudopods.
Naegleria is an amoeba, a single-celled organism, and only one of its species, called Naegleria fowleri, can infect humans.
It was first discovered in Australia in 1965 and is commonly found in warm freshwater bodies, such as hot springs, rivers and lakes.
So far, Naegleria fowleri has been found in all continents and declared as the cause of PAM in over 16 countries, including India.

How does it infect humans?

The amoeba enters the human body through the nose and then travels up to the brain.
This can usually happen when someone goes for a swim, or dive or even when they dip their head in a freshwater body.
In some cases, it was found that people got infected when they cleaned their nostrils with contaminated water/ vapour/ or aerosol droplets.
Once Naegleria fowleri goes to the brain, it destroys brain tissues and causes a dangerous infection known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).

The CDC says the first signs of PAM start showing within one to 12 days after the infection.
In the initial stages, they might be similar to symptoms of meningitis, which are headache, nausea and fever.
In the later stages, one can suffer from a stiff neck, seizures, hallucinations, and even coma.
The infection spreads rapidly and on average causes death within about five days.

With the rising global temperatures, the chances of getting Naegleria fowleri infection will go up as the amoeba mainly thrives in warm freshwater bodies.
The organism best grows in high temperatures up to 46°C and sometimes can survive at even higher temperatures.
Various recent studies have found that excess atmospheric carbon dioxide has led to an increase in the temperature of lakes and rivers.
These conditions provide a more favourable environment for the amoeba to grow.