Fatal Brain Eating Amoeba Now Invading Northern US, Courtesy Climate Change
Global warming is pushing a dangerous brain eating amoeba north into the US, experts warn.
The recent death of a Minnesota teen has sparked debate whether warmer summers are facilitating survival of amoeba Naegleria fowleri in northern lakes and water holes. According to US News and World Report which quoted Dr Bruce Hirsch of North Shore University Hospital, NY, the ameba prefers warmer waters of the south but climate change is providing just that in northern regions which do not have a record of its presence until recent past.
Naegleria fowleri infections are usually fatal. The ameba enters the brain through the nose and causes an infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis. Symptoms usually begin within five days of infection. Only three people are known to have survived an infection since 1962.
Though dangerous, Naegleria fowleri infections are rare. There have only been 133 recorded cases of infections in the past five decades. Health officials recommend avoiding nasal rinsing and preventing water in untreated pools from entering the nose. Natural water bodies too are known to host the ameba.
"We don't know why someone gets infected and others don't. We really can't tell you what to do not to get infected," pediatric expert Dr Adriana Cadilla, quoted by US News and World Report. She added that water posed other bigger risks including drowning, which are more important to address.
