The threat of contracting an N. Cope recommends using nose plugs and not immersing your head fully under water when swimming. She also counsels against kicking up sediment, which can shake the amoeba loose. More effective treatments may be on the horizon. Last year, the U. Food and Drug Administration approved Miltefosine , originally intended as an anti-cancer treatment. In , two people in the U. Their insights may help us understand what makes it so virulent and point the way to better treatments.
Roni Jacobson is a science journalist based in New York City who writes about psychology and mental health. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue.
See Subscription Options. Go Paperless with Digital. Until then, hold your nose. The next morning, Philip was difficult to arouse and was not able to bend his neck forward, Gompf said.
After being rushed to the hospital, he tested an "extraordinary level" of inflammation in his spinal fluid. Philip became brain dead within three days of the initial headache, Gompf said. An autopsy found a "wide-spread infection" of amoeba in organs other than his brain. Certainly, the one thing that that we want is for no one to have to deal with have to have this happen to their child.
The amoeba enters the brain through a forceful push of water high into the naval cavity, Gompf said, adding that it is important to plug one's nose -- or avoid putting your head underwater all together -- when swimming in freshwater 76 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer.
Ingesting Naegleria fowleri is not harmful. The pathogen can linger in any body of freshwater, including lakes, ponds, rivers, underchlorinated water parks and municipal water, which is why it's imperative to boil water -- or use distilled water -- when using a neti pot. Vibrio vulnificus tends to cause diarrheal illness in most people, but some can experience severe bloodstream infection or gangrene, Gompf said.
People with underlying conditions such as diabetes, liver disease or poor immunity are more likely to become infected with Vibrio vulnificus. We'll notify you here with news about. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? MORE: 'Zombie' fires could become more common due to climate change, new study suggests. Since N. Even when a patient does make it to a hospital within a few days of infection, PAM is often mistaken for one of these types of meningitis distinguishing them requires an invasive spinal tap and treated as such, to no avail.
Experts agree that for every confirmed case, there are likely one or two that were misdiagnosed and recorded instead as more common meningitis fatalities. In , a 4-year-old boy living near New Orleans died unexpectedly from what doctors later determined to be PAM. The CDC was called.
Read: Is my neti pot going to kill me? In Arizona, Gerba says, chlorine is the standard choice for disinfecting municipal water, but about 30 percent of the country instead uses chloramine, a mix of chlorine and ammonia that leaves behind fewer harmful by-products such as chloroform. Chlorine and chloramine dissipate differently in water, meaning that under the right set of circumstances—for instance, low water turnover in areas left partially vacant by Hurricane Katrina—the less aggressive chloramine can leave some pockets untreated.
The contaminated system in Louisiana was flushed in , and the Environmental Protection Agency began regularly monitoring water in the region. But the process is complicated, and spotting the amoebas can take weeks once they show up.
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