Blog 9: Amoeba outbreak in Pakistan

An outbreak of a thermo-tolerant, free-living amoeba called Naegleria fowleri claimed the lived of 13 individuals in Pakistan over the course of 17 months. This amoeba is found all around the world but generally resides in moist soil and freshwater. They proliferate, or multiply, when temperatures increase. For those who died from an infection caused by this, it is suspected that they acquired it through religious cleaning using contaminated tap water. The amoebas are then able to enter the body through the nasal cavity and attack the central nervous system through the olfactory neuroepithelium; receptor and supporting cells in the nose. The disease the amoebas cause is called Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis. The disease is fatal when left untreated. All 13 patients that were studied died within 6-7 days of hospital admission. A sample of tap water from the home of one of the deceased patients was collected and cultured; it later revealed DNA belonging to this amoeba.

Due to the fact that these protozoa are found all over the world, the idea of an outbreak like this occurring somewhere else is not that far of a stretch. What appears to be the scariest part of this is that the men who were studied with this disease all claim to have had no recent interaction with fresh water so the source has to be domestic. The cultured sample that was collected from the homes of one of the victims that revealed DNA of the amoeba shows that the water supply for the whole city could be contaminated. This creates opportunity for greater spread and a higher death rate. All of the deceased were treated for the disease and still died so there is not much success and getting this infection under control. The disease mocks the symptoms of meningitis so sometimes it is taken as something less serious when that isn’t the case at all. There are attempts to come up with ways as to how the water was contaminated in the first place, but nothing is definitive enough to alleviate potential panic.

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/17/2/10-0442_article.htm

http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140673612617814.pdf