The news of the American bather infected with a brain-eating amoeba caused a sensation. This is Naegleria fowleri, which destroys the brain
The news of the last few weeks, of a tourist that after a swim in a lake it was infected from a rare one brain-eating amoeba. The events took place in Taylor County in Iowa. A real alarm, so much so that the beach has been closed to bathers. A fundamental precautionary measure to ensure that doctors and scientists can analyze the waters and the possible risks.
The tourist at the moment still risks his life and for this reason research is fundamental. In this way, in fact, it will be possible to carry out studies to understand if the waters are contaminated or if it is just an exceptional case. Researches and surveys which, to get an answer, will take many months. The only certainty is that it is the Naegleria fowleri.
Naegleria fowleri, the brain-eating amoeba
Naegleria fowleri is one free-living unicellular microscopic amoeba which can create a rare and very dangerous brain infection: primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). This microscopic organism is usually found in areas rich in backwater and especially in the summer months when the areas heat up.
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Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis characterizes from fever, sensory disturbance, nausea, vomiting, headache and focal neurological signs. A very worrying clinical picture that can immediately lead to coma and death. There is currently no standard therapeutic protocol, but amphotericin B it seems to have good results, although survivors are not counted on the fingertips. In Italia, however, it was reported just one case.
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Contagion with this brain-eating amoeba occurs mainly when contaminated water accidentally gets inside nasal cavities. In this way, the Naegleria fowleri penetrate the olfactory mucosa following a temperature gradient in their favor, going up to the olfactory nerve in the cranial cavity through the lamina cribrosa of the ethmoid bone, up to the brain through the olfactory bulbs. With the optimal conditions of temperature and nutrients the parasites multiply very quickly, feeding on the brain nervous tissue.