Naegleria fowleri: In the midst of the Corona epidemic wreaking havoc in many countries of the world, now a frightening disease has emerged from South Korea. A brain hollowing disease has been detected in Korea. This disease has been found in a 50-year-old man, who died on Thursday. This person had recently returned to South Korea from Thailand. After returning, he showed symptoms like headache, fever, vomiting, difficulty in speaking and stiff neck, after which he was admitted to the hospital.
However, he died the next day itself. This disease is very dangerous, which is spread by an amoeba named Naegleria fowleri. It is also called ‘brain eating amoeba’, because it gradually makes the brain hollow. According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Naegleria fowleri is a unicellular amoeba, which lives in soil and water bodies such as rivers, lakes, springs, etc. There is no cell wall in this amoeba.
How does amoeba enter the body?
The brain-eating amoeba known as Naegleria fowleri is a species of the genus Naegleria. Doctor Deepu TS of Kochi’s Amrita Hospital told that Naegleria fowleri infects people when people get down to bathe in a dirty pool, pond, puddle or river. When water containing bacteria called amoeba enters the body through the nose, along with it ‘brain eating amoeba’ also enters the body, after which its effects can be seen in the person. The thing to note here is that Naegleria fowleri infection does not spread from one person to another.
What are the symptoms?
Now let us also know in detail about the signs and symptoms of brain-eating amoeba. Actually, Naegleria fowleri reaches the brain through the nose. After this it starts affecting the brain. This disease, also known as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), destroys brain tissue. The first symptoms of PAM usually start appearing about 5 days after becoming infected with the disease. Although it can also start within 1 to 12 days. Its initial symptoms are headache, fever, nausea or vomiting. While later its symptoms may include stiffness of the neck, difficulty in speaking, not paying attention to people and surroundings, confusion and coma etc. After the symptoms of ‘brain eating amoeba’ appear, this disease spreads rapidly. This disease can cause death even within 5 days and can take more time.
What is the treatment?
As primary amoebic meningoencephalitis is a rare disease and tends to spread rapidly once it occurs, effective treatment options are not yet fully researched. There is no concrete treatment or medicine for this disease yet. However, it is currently being treated with drugs that have a combination of antibiotics, antifungals and anti-parasitics. Miltefosine is the newest of these drugs.
read this also: Amoeba: After Corona, Amoeba increased worldwide fear, one died in South Korea, this disease will make the mind hollow in just 10 days
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