Fatality Rate 97% 'Brain-Eating Amoeba' Spreading in the US... What Is the Reason?

US: "Habitats Gradually Shifting Northward Due to Climate Change"

Brain-eating amoeba 'Naegleria fowleri' [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Nayeon] The "brain-eating amoeba" known as "Naegleria fowleri" is spreading throughout rivers and lakes across the United States.

According to foreign media such as the UK's The Guardian, the habitat range of the brain-eating amoeba "Naegleria fowleri" is expanding due to rising water temperatures caused by global warming.

The Guardian reported last month that a child in Omaha, Nebraska, in the central United States, died after being infected with the brain-eating amoeba. The child is believed to have contracted Naegleria fowleri while swimming in a river.

"Naegleria fowleri" is an amoeba that mainly inhabits freshwater in areas where the air temperature is above 30 degrees Celsius, and it typically infects people by entering the brain through the nose while swimming.

The amoeba enters the brain through the nose and destroys tissue, causing a disease called Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM). Although infections are rare, there is no cure, and the fatality rate is as high as 97%, making it extremely deadly.

Naegleria fowleri, which prefers warm water, was initially found in the southern United States where temperatures are high, but recently, cases of infection have been reported as far north as the central region.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in a report last year that the habitat of Naegleria amoeba is gradually moving northward due to rising water temperatures caused by climate change. According to the CDC, from 1962 to 2020, 151 people were infected with Naegleria fowleri, and only 4 of them survived.

Earlier, on the 5th of last month, news emerged that a man in his 30s in Israel died after being infected with this amoeba. Israeli authorities reportedly sent samples from this man to the CDC for analysis. Meanwhile, no cases of infection have been reported domestically yet.