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Microscopic image of a sample taken from the woman's brain, with arrows indicating amoebae. Image: K. Piper et al., 2018 / International Journal of Infectious Diseases
A 68-year-old woman from Seattle died from a contract of a rare amoeba that feeds on brains.
As reported in a new case study of the International Journal of Infectious Diseases the infection was initially misdiagnosed as a bacterial infection. Brain tumor During the operation to remove the suspected tumor, the chief neurosurgeon Charles Cobbs of the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle was surprised by the extent of brain damage.
• Dirty lenses and poor hygiene conditions lead to the proliferation of amoebae that can lead to blindness
"When I operated this woman, a part of her brain, the size of a ball of golf, was a bloody pulp, "said Cobbs at Seattle Times . "There were these amoebae all over while eating the brain cells, we had no idea what was going on, but when we took the tissue, we saw that it was a problem." An amoeba. "
In fact, the biopsy report that followed showed that the woman had been infected with a rare devouring brain amoeba, call Balamuthia mandrillaris . This type of infection is quite rare, but what is unusual in this incident is that it is "the first case of brain infection by Balamuthia mandrillaris in which a nasal wash could be the cause, "according to the study. , written by scientists from the Swedish Medical Center and doctors who worked on the case, including Cobbs.
By nasal wash, the researchers refer to the use of a pot Neti – a device for the teapot that relieves nasal pressure. when injecting water through the nasal cavity. The researchers said the patient was using filtered tap water. Instead, it is recommended to use boiled or salted water.
As a neti pot user, it's a shock to me. I did not really know that it was necessary to use boiled or salted water instead of tap water – and I guess that will surprise many other people as well.
A B. mandrillaris is a living amoeba found in soil and freshwater. This unicellular organism should not be confused with Naegleria fowleri another amoeba that also feeds on brain and also lives in freshwater. Unlike N. fowleri however, who kills his human victims in a few days, the amoeba of B. mandrillaris needs more time to inflict damage.
These amoeba live traditionally in hot climates of South America and Central America, but climate change could open new habitats – including in states such as Washington. A B. mandrillaris was detected for the first time in 1986 in a mandrill monkey at the San Diego Zoo. According to the article, it was declared a separate species in 1993. Globally, only 200 infections were recorded, including 70 in the United States. Alarmingly, the death rate is almost 100%.
Usually, an unusual circumstance is necessary to be infected. The amoeba can not be contracted simply by drinking contaminated water. In the cases concerning N. fowleri for example, people contracted the amoeba by jumping into a lake, which caused the water to enter through the nose. In the case of the Seattle woman, however, it is the rinsing device that has placed the amoebae in contaminated tap water in their nasal pbadages and olfactory nerves, the scientists said.
For this poor woman, who died of a brain infection last February, the disease has manifested for the first time as a rash on the nose. Not suspecting anything unusual, her doctors diagnosed her with rosacea, a common skin condition, with treatments lasting approximately one year. The woman then had a stroke and had a brain scan, which diagnosed a brain tumor. As we know, this was an incorrect diagnosis. The woman's surgery and the biopsy that followed finally revealed the true nature of her condition.
"Despite aggressive anti-amoebic treatment, the condition of the patient continued to deteriorate," the authors wrote. "After a week, she was even more sleepy and she was in a coma.The recurrence of computed tomography showed more bleeding in the initial resection cavity."
The patient dies about a month after finally receiving the correct diagnosis.
In fact, the incident shows how difficult it is to properly diagnose this type of infection. As the researchers noted in the case study, there is still much to learn about the mode and reasons for these infections, such as compromised immune system influence, environmental factors and genetic. Scientists have said that we should not give up Neti pots because devices are a good way to get relief. Nasal If we wash containers properly and use boiled or salted water, we should be free from this type of problem.
[International Journal of Infectious Diseases]
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