Naegleria fowleri is a pathogenic amoeba that causes rare and fatal primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) in healthy individuals. Popularly known as “ brain-eating amoeba ,” N. fowleri is found in warm freshwater, including lakes, hot springs, rivers, and inadequately chlorinated swimming pools. N. fowleri infection has been reported in 33 countries , with the highest rate of incidence in the USA (41%), Pakistan (11%), and Mexico (9%).
Individuals can get infected with the amoeba through contaminated water entering through the nose. The symptoms appear within five to seven days of exposure to the pathogen and include headaches, chills, high fever, nuchal rigidity, vomiting, fatigue, restlessness, confusion, seizures, diplopia, and coma. N. fowleri ingests brain tissue, destroys neurons, and causes tissue necrosis. Death can occur after three to seven days of the appearance of the…
