Naegleria ‘brain-eating amoeba’ claims two lives in a week in Karachi, raising the alarm

Naegleria ‘brain-eating amoeba’ has claimed two lives in a week in Karachi raising the alarm!

The Sindh health authorities on Monday reported a second death within a week in Karachi from Naegleria fowleri, commonly called brain-eating amoeba, raising the death toll from the deadly infection to 10 this year.

According to the health department, the deceased 22-year-old Muhammad Arsal student, a resident of North Karachi was admitted to a private hospital on October 27 when his PCR test came positive for Naegleria fowleri.

The student fell ill with a high fever, headache, and vomiting reportedly on Oct 25.

“His condition deteriorated, forcing the family to get him admitted to the intensive care unit of a private hospital two days later. He tested positive for Naegleria fowleri and died of complications on Oct 29,” a health department official shared.

On Oct 24, a 45-year-old shopkeeper fell victim to the deadly infection resident from the same locality.

According to the health department officials, both the deceased had no history of swimming, and they might have contracted the infection during nasal passages.

A statement released by the Sindh health department later in the day stated that directives have been given to the town surveillance coordinator to collect water samples from the area (in order to detect the presence of the deadly amoeba in water) on the insistence of the victim’s family.

Naegleria fowleri is a rare but deadly waterborne amoeba that thrives in freshwater sources.

According to the Sindh health department, 10 people have lost their lives so far due to Naegleria fowleri infection (NFI) across the province.