Brain Eating Amoeba Naegleria fowleri Habitat, Symptoms,Treatment, Prevention

Naegleria fowleri or The brain-eating amoeba.

Brain-eating amoeba is a dangerous parasite which lives in fresh warm water, for example, lakes, and hot streams.

Brain-eating amoeba is generally found in hot lakes of American South West. But now brain-eating amoeba has been identified in many other countries too. Recently It has killed 10 people in Karachi ( a City of Pakistan ). Karachi is situated at the coast of Arabian Sea. -

Brain-eating amoeba is a deadly parasite. It develops as an amoeba. It enters the human body when water splashes through the nose. A nerve called olfactory nerve enters the brain through the holes in the bone which separates the cranial cavity from the nasal cavity. It attaches itself to the olfactory nerve and destroys its cells then it follows the nerve root to the brain where the amoeba starts consuming the brain cells, it means it damages the brain the vital organ of the body. 

Symptoms of Brain Eating Amoeba Infection

Symptoms of the infection include; headache, fever, nausea vomiting, headache, stiff neck.

Treatment of Brain Eating Amoeba Infection

There is no known specific treatment for this infection. But some drugs are proved to be effective. But stills treatment is incomplete and infection doesn't subside and usually patient dies within three to seven days.

Prevention:

Proper chlorination of swimming pools.
Avoiding swimming in warm freshwater or stagnant pools.
Using nose plugs and preventing water from entering into the nose while swimming