Skip to main content

Brain-Eating Amoeba Kills Pak Man After He Went Swimming: Report

In a rare occurrence, a 22-year-old man died of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) in Pakistan's Karachi, taking the tally of casualties to three this year, ARY News reported.

PAM is notably a disease of the central nervous system caused by Naegleria fowleri commonly called 'brain-eating' amoeba.

The victim was identified as Aurangzeb. He contracted the disease following a picnic with his friends at a farmhouse in Quaidabad on July 7, where the group had also gone for a swim. The next day, Aurangzeb started showing symptoms, which included nausea and fever.

He was admitted to the hospital on July 10, and the virus was confirmed on July 11. A resident of Cattle Colony, Aurangzeb, was under treatment at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), as per ARY News.

The youth had gone for a picnic with friends at a farmhouse in Quaidabad on July 7, where they swam in the pool. Aurangzeb started showing symptoms on July 8, including fever, headache, and nausea. He was admitted to the hospital on July 10, and the virus was confirmed on July 11.

The 22-year-old Aurangzeb was the third victim of the deadly infection this year in the city, with the other two cases reported in Korangi and Malir earlier, according to ARY News.

The infection has claimed the lives of people across various regions of Pakistan earlier as well. At least 10 people died of Naegleria fowleri last year. The infection is found to be fatal in 98 per cent of the cases.

Naegleria, a free-living amoeba, is frequently found in warm, freshwater (lakes, rivers, and hot springs) and soil.

Only one species, Naegleria fowleri, infects humans.

It infects people when water containing the amoeba enters the body via the nose. This often occurs when people swim, dive, or submerge their heads in fresh water, such as lakes and rivers. The amoeba then travels up the nose and into the brain, where it damages brain tissue and causes PAM, according to ARY News.

After symptoms begin, the disease progresses rapidly and usually causes death within five days. The germ cannot survive in cool, clean and chlorinated water.

The earliest symptoms of PAM often appear approximately five days after infection and may include headache, fever, nausea, or vomiting. Later symptoms may include a stiff neck, confusion, loss of attention to people and surroundings, seizures, hallucinations, and coma.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)



from NDTV News-World-news https://ift.tt/r10lh2S

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sri Lanka Must Achieve Debt Restructuring By September: IMF

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday reaffirmed that Sri Lanka must achieve its debt restructuring process by September, which is also the time for the global lender's formal review of the bailout facility it extended to the cash-strapped nation. On March 20, IMF extended a nearly $3 billion bailout facility to debt-ridden Sri Lanka that would help stabilise the country's economy after it was jolted by a devastating economic crisis last year. In a statement issued on Tuesday at the end of a nearly two weeks staff visit to Colombo to assess the progress made by Sri Lanka since the agreement was reached, the IMF said the two sides had discussed the developments on debt restructuring. "Sri Lanka must achieve debt restructuring by its first review due in September. We also discussed progress on debt restructuring, noting the ongoing discussions with both foreign and domestic creditors," the statement read. Sri Lanka is still struggling to normalise its crisis-hi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Biden Warns "All Out War" Possible In Middle East

US President Joe Biden warned Wednesday of the possibility of an "all-out war" in the Middle East but said he was hopeful a settlement was still achievable for the conflict-torn region. Biden's comments as he appeared on ABC chat show "The View" came as Israel put troops on alert for possible entry into Lebanon and the war in Gaza grinds on. "An all-out war is possible," Biden said when asked about the situation. "What I think is, also, the opportunity is still in play to have a settlement that could fundamentally change the whole region." Biden appeared to raise the possibility of a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israeli strikes targeting the Hezbollah militia have killed more than 600 people this week. "They have a possibility -- I don't want to exaggerate it -- there's a possibility if we can deal with a ceasefire in Lebanon that it can move into dealing with the West Bank as well," said Biden. Israel has been carrying ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Amazon Rainforest Tribe's Secret To Healthy Life And Slow Ageing Revealed

Deep in the Amazon rainforest, a semi-nomadic indigenous community is thriving. This community defies conventional norms on ageing and health. The Tsimanes, consisting of 16,000 people, live a fully subsistence lifestyle, relying on hunting, foraging and farming to survive. Scientists have been studying this unique group for two decades, and have uncovered remarkable findings till now. Martina Canchi Nate, an 84-year-old Tsimanes woman, digs up yucca trees, cuts down plantain trees and carries heavy loads with ease, faster than her younger companions, as per a BBC report. This level of physical activity is not unusual among Tsimanes of her age. Researchers have discovered that this group has the healthiest arteries ever studied and brains that age more slowly than those in North America, Europe and elsewhere. The Tsimanes' secret lies in their active lifestyle, with an average of 16,000 to 17,000 steps per day. They spend less than 10 percent of daylight hours in sedentary activ...
Post a Comment
Read more