Brain-Eating Amoeba found in U.S. Waters

NOTE:   THIS ARTICLE CONTAIN GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF THIS BRAIN-EATING PARASITE. -Deb

<This article has been re-posted in its entirety from: Web MD  Pictures were added by me, Deb>

It doesn’t happen often. But most summers, several Americans — usually healthy, young people — suffer sudden, tragic deaths from brain-eating amoeba.

What is this scary bug? How does it get to the brain? Where is it and how can I avoid it? WebMD answers these and other questions.

What Is a Brain-Eating Amoeba?

Amoebas are single-celled organisms. The so-called brain-eating amoeba is a species discovered in 1965. It’s formal name is Naegleria fowleri. Although first identified in Australia, this amoeba is believed to have evolved in the U.S.

There are several species of Naegleria but only the fowleri species causes human disease. There are several fowleri subtypes. All are believed equally dangerous

.N. fowleri is microscopic: 8 micrometers to 15 micrometers in size, depending on its life stage and environment. By comparison, a hair is 40 to 50 micrometers wide.

Inserted by Deb P.: 

the diameter of human hair varies from about 40 microns to 120 microns. A micron or micrometer is a millionth of a meter.

Copy paper thickness is about 100 microns (or 0.1 millimeter).

Pasted from <http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_size_of_a_human_hair>

Like other amoebas, Naegleria reproduces by cell division. When conditions aren’t right, the amoebas become inactive cysts. When conditions are favorable, the cysts turn into trophozoites — the feeding form of the amoeba.

To reach their food, N. fowleri trophozoites temporarily grow tails (flagella) that allow them to swim. In this form they cannot eat, so they soon go back to the trophozoite stage.

Where Are Brain-Eating Amoebas Found?

Naegleria loves very warm water. It can survive in water as hot as 113 degrees Fahrenheit.

These amoebas can be found in warm places around the globe. N. fowleri is found in:

•  Warm lakes, ponds, and rock pits
• Mud puddles
• Warm, slow-flowing rivers, especially those with low water levels
• Untreated swimming pools and spas
• Untreated well water or untreated municipal water
• Hot springs and other geothermal water sources
• Thermally polluted water, such as runoff from power plants
• Aquariums
• Soil, including indoor dust

Naegleria can’t live in salt water. It can’t survive in properly treated swimming pools or in properly treated municipal water.

Most cases of N. fowleri disease occur in Southern or Southwestern states. Over half of all infections have been in Florida and Texas.

How Do People Get Infected With Brain-Eating Amoeba?

The term “brain-eating amoeba” makes the amoeba sound like a tiny zombie stalking your skull. But brains are accidental food for them. According to the CDC, N. fowleri normally eats bacteria. But when the amoeba gets into humans, it uses the brain as a food source.

The good news is that if you were to drink a glass of water infested with N. fowleri amoeba, you would not get a brain infection. It infects people by getting into your nose.

This happens most often when people are diving, water skiing, or performing water sports in which water is forced into the nose. But infections have occurred in people who dunked their heads in hot springs or who cleaned their nostrils with neti pots filled with untreated tap water.

A person infected with N. fowleri amoeba cannot spread the infection to another person.

 How Do Amoebas Get in the Brain?

Studies suggest that N. fowleri amoebas are attracted to the chemicals that nerve cells use to communicate with one another. Once in the nose, the amoebas travel through the olfactory nerve (the nerve connected with sense of smell) into the frontal lobe of the brain.

How Frequently Do People Get Infected by Brain-Eating Amoeba?

Even though N. fowleri amoebas are relatively common, they only rarely cause brain disease. N. fowleri disease is known as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). It occurs from zero to eight times a year, almost always from July to September.

It’s considered a rare infection. But some cases may be unreported. A study in Virginia that looked at more than 16,000 autopsy records from patients who died of meningitis found five previously unreported cases of PAM.

Studies show that many people may have antibodies to N. fowleri. That suggests that they became infected with the amoeba but that their immune systems fought it off.

It’s not at all clear whether N. fowleri is a rare infection that always causes PAM and is almost always fatal, or a more common infection that only sometimes causes PAM.

In a 2009 study, CDC researchers suggested that the common finding of antibodies to the amoeba in humans and the frequent finding of N. fowleri in U.S. waters indicates “that exposure to the amoeba is much more common than the incidence of PAM suggests.”

How Long Until Symptoms of Brain-Eating Amoeba Appear?

It takes two to 15 days for symptoms to appear after N. fowleri amoebas enter the nose. Death usually occurs three to seven days after symptoms appear. The average time to death is 5.3 days from symptom onset. Only a handful of patients worldwide have been reported to have survived an infection.

What Are the First Symptoms Someone Might Have?

Symptoms of PAM are not specific to this disease. At first, PAM may seem like viral meningitis. Symptoms include:

• headache
• fever
• stiff neck
• loss of appetite
• vomiting
• altered mental state
• seizures
• coma

There may also be hallucinations, drooping eyelid, blurred vision, and loss of the sense of taste.

Is There a Treatment for Infection With Brain-Eating Amoeba?

The right treatment isn’t clear. A number of drugs kill N. fowleri amoebas in the test tube. But even when treated with these drugs, very few patients survive.

Is There a Rapid Test for Infection With Brain-Eating Amoeba?

There is no rapid test for infection with brain-eating amoeba. But researchers are working to develop one. Until such tests come along, it can take weeks to identify the amoeba.

How Do Amoebas Dissolve Brain Tissue?

One study suggests that N. fowleri amoebas produce two proteases — enzymes that dissolve protein.

There is also evidence that this particular species of amoeba is attracted to the olfactory nerve and then to the brain by the chemical messengers nerve and brain cells use to communicate with one another.