Beware of deadly brain-eating bug
Naegleria fowleri is a rare and lethal infection caused by brain-eating amoeba (aka PAM) that thrives in warm freshwater lakes and rivers
By : Roseina Coutinho
Update: 2025-02-17 03:14 GMT
The next time you think of taking a quick dip or swimming in a warm freshwater lake or river think again. Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis aka PAM is a deadly brain-eating amoeba that spurts its head out of the infection with Naegleria fowleri. It thrives in warm freshwater lakes, rivers and contaminated pools. This amoeba makes its way through the nose and infects the brain tissue. It causes severe brain swelling and even leads to seizures and death. PAM may be rare but can affect anybody, especially healthy children, teens or even adults. Once Naegleria fowleri, a thermophilic amoeba enters through the nose, it makes way and moves up along the olfactory nerve to the brain.
ROOT CAUSES
There could be a plethora of reasons for this deadly amoeba to get into your system before it starts tearing your brain apart. The most common way is when people swim in freshwater bodies that tend to be warm. Naegleria fowleri is known to infect people only when water containing the amoeba enters the body through the nose. So, swallowing or gulping down such water as you dive in, may not always lead to an infection. Unless it has found a way to seep into and through your nose.
EXPERT VIEWS
“Naegleria fowleri is waterborne, an amoeba that thrives in warm freshwater environments” explains Dr G.M Khan, a Neurosurgeon and specialist from Mumbai. Suggesting further, that PAM is notorious for its fatal properties such as severe brain inflammation once it enters a person’s body.
PAM does not spread through air or person-to-person contact but enters the body through the nose, particularly during activities like swimming or using contaminated tap water for nasal rinsing. What’s concerning is that initially this infection being extremely rare could simply go unnoticed as a common cold or bacterial meningitis.
SYMPTOMS
PAM spews its seeds of inflammation and infection in as little as one to nine days after the first exposure to such contaminated water. “Initial symptoms include headache, fever, nausea and vom- iting which could progress rapidly to a stiff neck, confusion or even seizures” explains Dr Khan. However, what could again pose as being bemusing is that many of these symptoms may appear to resemble those of bacterial meningitis or other nervous infections.
Delaying the possibility of early diagnosis. The disease is an aggressive one and advances swiftly, often leading to death within just a few days if left untreated. Dr S Pai, a pathologist from Bengaluru says that a few cases were reported in Kerala last year. “The chances of survival are slim, but some of the Kerala patients managed to survive through proper timely treatment.”
Even if diagnosed, treatment is a challenge. Treatment could range anywhere from a combination of antifungal and antimicrobial medications. However, given the amoeba’s aggressiveness, successful treatment outcomes are a rarity.
There are only a handful of PAM cases reported in India. “While cases are rare in India, increasing temperatures and untreated freshwater sources can pose a potential risk to lives especially due to our warm conditions,” says Dr Khan. The best way to tackle the brain-eating amoeba is awareness and pre- ventive measures since India has a warm climate. The risk of PAM in India may be low but it certainly exists.