Brain-Eating Amoeba


                     



               Naegleriasis - Brain-eating amoeba 


Naegleriasis is also known as Primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). PAM is caused by the free-living amoeba Naegleria fowleri and occurs most commonly in healthy children and young adults with recent recreational freshwater exposure, which is ordinarily lethal. Transcendently living in the freshwater lakes, streams and warm waters of the hot springs, it can get into the body through the nose, when the contaminated water is persuasively aspirated during swimming or other water sports like diving, skiing etc. In spite of the fact that contamination occurs rarely, it nearly always results in death with a case fatality rate greater than 95%.

The rarity of the disease makes it difficult to diagnose Naegleriasis in the starting stages. Almost 75% of individuals with the infection are diagnosed only after their death. The most common strategies utilized to identify changes in the human brain are MRI and CT Scan Imaging techniques. The Naegleria fowleri organisms, DNA or antigen can also be identified in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), biopsy, or tissue specimens of the contaminated persons. Signs and symptoms of Naegleria fowleri infection are clinically similar to bacterial meningitis, which brings down the chances of initially diagnosing PAM. 

Usually an intravenous drug amphotericin B which is utilized for treating fungal contaminations is given to a patient with PAM. However, this drug alone cannot manage, control or treat PAM. Other drugs like azithromycin, fluconazole and rifampin have been tried for the treatment of Naeglerisis. The amoeba follows the olfactory nerve filaments through the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone into the skull. There, it migrates to the olfactory bulbs and hence other regions of the brain, where it feeds on the nerve tissue, resulting in significant necrosis and bleeding. As approximately 60% of the cases reported for PAM or primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, or the Naegleriasis are children, who are 13 years of age and younger, they are more at chance of getting contaminated by Brain Eating Amoeba. Moreover, 80% cases are found in males. 

Best Regards
Ellie Rose
Program Manager
Gulf Rare Diseases 2018

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