An underage American boy has died after being infected with a brain-eating amoeba after swimming in Lake Mead in the United States. This was stated by the Lake Mead National Recreation District in a press release, according to CNN.
They did not say exactly how old the boy was, but he was under 18 years old.
The brain-eating amoeba is called Naegleria fowleri and is known to be extremely deadly. It can cause primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), an acute inflammation of the brain with a mortality rate of about 95 percent.
AMOEBA Mental Eating: A 3D Drawing of Naegleria fowleri. Caption: Kateryna Kon / Shutterstock / NTB
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– very rare
My condolences to this young man’s family. “While I want to assure the public that this type of infection is extremely rare, I know there is no relief for his family and friends at this time,” Dr. Fermin Leguine, director of health for the Southern Nevada Region, told CNN.
This is the first time that Naegleria fowleri has been recorded in Lake Mead, and it is the second time that a person has lost their life in Nevada as a result of this disease.
Fortunately, amoebas are very rare and experts in the United States believe that people who want to take a shower should be concerned, but not panic, writes the Guardian.
It attracts people’s attention because of the name, but it’s a very rare disease, says former epidemiologist Brian Lapus Watchman.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recorded only 154 cases since 1962.
die fast
The amoeba is usually transmitted by swimming in lakes, rivers, and pools without chlorine, where your head is under water and causes water to run into your nose. He writes that nasal irrigation with contaminated water is also a known risk factor Institute of Public Health (FHI).
People with the infection experience symptoms similar to meningitis, which initially include headache, fever, nausea or vomiting, and progress to stiff neck, seizures and coma, according to The Guardian.
Symptoms begin one to twelve days after exposure, and the person usually dies within five days.
There is no effective treatment, University of Georgia professor Dennis Kyle tells the Guardian.
Naegleria fowleri amoeba is found naturally in lakes, rivers, and hot springs in the United States—particularly in the southern states. but according to Center for Disease Control In recent years, people have been affected by amoebic infection in the North.
It is unclear why some people contract the amoeba, while millions who bathe in warm fresh water do not, even if they are swimming with infected people, they wrote.
You can protect yourself from illness by making sure that water does not get into your nose when swimming or jumping in water.
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