Crawling its way northward from the southern states of the US, there has been a discovery about a deadly brain-eating amoeba — Naegleria fowleri.
According to the report given by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it has been noticed that the cases have been advancing northward. As the geographic range has been noted to be in the Northern States, some cases have been found in the mid-western states.
What is Naegleria fowleri (brain-eating amoeba)?
Naegleria fowleri is a free-living microscopic amoeba that causes a rare and devastating infection of the brain. This is primarily called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). This amoeba has been specifically found in warm freshwater and soil. It usually affects people when contaminated water enters the body through the nose, as explained by the CDC.
After the amoeba has entered the body through the nose, it travels to the brain, where it causes PAM. Causing PAM is very fatal for humans. It has been noticed that this infection is caused when people go swimming or diving in warm freshwater places, like lakes and rivers. In the rarest of all cases, Naegleria infections are also noted to occur due to the contaminated water from other sources. Moreover, the CDC has put forth there are no cases wherein the infections are caused because of the consumption of the contaminated water.
Glancing through the previous cases
The scientists examined US instances of N. fowleri associated with recreational water presentation—swimming in lakes, lakes, waterways. In their experimentation, they have discovered around 85 instances of N. fowleri.
Presently, most of the cases have been reported in the southern states of the U.S. Nevertheless, six were reported in the Midwest, including Minnesota, Kansas, and Indiana. As per CDC information, there have just been 34 contaminations announced in the US over the most recent 10 years.
From 1978 to 2018, new cases moved northwards at about 8.2 miles every year as reported by the CDC.
Also read: Top 10 Scariest Diseases Outbreaks in the History
