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Naegleria fowleri has a terrifying nickname, as some know it as the ‘brain-eating’ amoeba. This is because, after entering the human body, it can cause an infection called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM, for its acronym in English), affecting that organ.(You can also read: Giant rat costume plugged drainage from an area of Mexico City).
A person can contract it after swimming or interacting in fresh water in rivers or lakes, according to a fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, for its acronym in English).
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The organism enters through the nose and then travels to the brain. Being there, it can cause PAM, causing inflammation and rapid deterioration of brain tissues.
We are saddened by the death of Josiah McIntyre
Recently, this amoeba made the news, as the case of a six-year-old boy was known, who apparently was attacked by it and died on September 8, in the American city of Houston (Texas).
“We are saddened by the death of Josiah McIntyre,” Councilor Vinay Singhania told local media ‘NBC News’. “We are still investigating and testing,” he added.
(Read on: Bill Gates says when everything will return to normal after the pandemic.)
According to information collected by the chain ‘CNN’, the hypotheses of the health authorities suggest that the minor could have been in contact with the microorganism in two places. In the days before his death, he was drinking water from a hose in his home and from a water source near the Lake Jackson Civic Center.
As a result of what happened, the city of Lake Jackson, also located in Texas, issued a disaster declaration. The fountain the boy was in was shut down and a private laboratory was hired to take samples. In the first tests that were made, the amoeba was not found.
However, some members of the Texas Health Services sent tests to the CDC. There they identified that three of the 11 water samples tested positive for naegleria fowleri, which set off the alarms of the authorities.
Now, at least eight cities in the same state are on alert. (It may interest you: Video: iceberg sank while two explorers climbed on it).
Between 1962 and 2018, 145 cases of people who had the ‘brain-eating’ amoeba were reported in the United States. Four of them survived, so it is known that the infection that this microorganism produces is highly fatal.
However, the CDC has warned that people who swallow infected water by mouth are not in danger of getting sick, something that does happen with swimmers or divers who enter lakes or rivers.
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