Context: Kerala has reported a spike in the fatal primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) cases, caused by Naegleria fowleri (a brain-eating Amoeba), along with a few fatalities since the beginning of the year.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about Naegleria fowleri; Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis; Amoeba.
What is Naegleria fowleri?
- Naegleria fowleri is a free-living amoeba or a single-celled living organism that causes a rare brain infection known as Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM).
- It lives in warm fresh water and soil and infects people when it enters the body through the nose. It then travels up to the brain, where it causes swelling and destroys the brain tissue.
- The amoeba can be found in warm freshwater, such as lakes and rivers, swimming pools, splash pads, surf parks, or other recreational venues that are poorly maintained or minimally chlorinated.
- Higher temperatures of up to 115°F (46°C) are conducive to its growth and it can survive for short periods in warm environments.
- However, people cannot get infected with Naegleria fowleri from drinking water contaminated with the amoeba. PAM is also non-communicable.
Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PEM):
- Symptoms: In the initial stage, the symptoms include headache, fever, nausea and vomiting. Later on, the patient may have a stiff neck and experience confusion, seizures, hallucinations and slip into a state of coma.
- Fatality: Most people with PAM die within 1 to 18 days after symptoms begin. It usually leads to coma and death after 5 days.
- Treatment: No effective treatment for the disease has been identified yet. At present, it is treated with a combination of drugs, including amphotericin B, azithromycin, fluconazole, rifampin, miltefosine, and dexamethasone.
Facts about Amoeba:
- Amoebas are single-celled, eukaryotic organisms that belong to the kingdom Protista. They are found in a variety of aquatic and moist environments.
- They have a simple, jelly-like body without a fixed shape. They move and feed by extending temporary projections called pseudopodia (false feet).
- They reproduce asexually through binary fission where the cell divides into two identical daughter cells.
- They are heterotrophic, meaning they obtain nutrients by engulfing and digesting organic matter, bacteria, and other microorganisms using their pseudopodia.
- They have a simple internal structure, including a nucleus, vacuoles for osmoregulation, and various organelles for digestion and other cellular functions.
- Some species of amoebas, such as Entamoeba histolytica, are parasitic and can cause diseases in humans, like amoebiasis.
- Amoebas are important in aquatic food webs, serving as both predators and prey. They play a role in the cycling of nutrients in their ecosystems.