Deadly ‘Brain-Eating’ Microbe Outbreak in Pakistan

RT News
Published October 9, 2012
http://rt.com/news/brain-eating-microbe-pakistan-016/

Summary:
Karachi, a major city in Pakistan, experienced an outbreak of Naegleria fowleri, or as it is more commonly referred to, “brain-eating amoeba”. Naegleria fowleri is a deadly freshwater microbe that kills 98% of infected individuals. Though the original source of the amoeba is unknown, it is transmitted through contaminated water into the nasal cavity. After that, it travels to the brain and causes inflammation. Those who are infected by this microbe experienced symptoms of headaches, stiff necks, fever, and stomach ache. The symptoms early on are mild, however, after five to seven days death is likely because there no cure has been developed for it.

            People normally contract the disease through swimming in contaminated water, but health authorities said that many of the victims were not swimmers. In a press conference, the Health Minister, Dr. Sagheer Ahmed, said that it was a serious cause of concern that people may be contracting the infection by using tap water. The city’s water supplier is the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board. They announced that they are increasing chlorine levels at water treatment facilities. Unfortunately, it will be difficult to determine the source of the contamination because the specific microbe, Naegleria fowleri can only be identified in microscopic study of the cerebrospinal fluid.

Connection:

This article connects to our study of microbes because it discusses the impact of a microbe on a human community. We studied various types of microbes, such as amoebas, and examined their impacts on the environment. This article shows an example of a harmful microbe, Naegleria fowleri, and reveals the dangerous impact it had on Karachi.