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Naegleria fowleri is a deadly amoeba that consumes brain – and not the kind of thing you want to get in touch with. Two recent incidents have exposed people to the terrifying microbe, one of which resulted in the death of a 29-year-old New Jersey man.
The commotion began last month when Fabrizio Stabile of New Jersey visited a wave pool in Texas and tragically ingested the deadly amoeba. He died later of infection on September 16, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help create a foundation in his honor and to raise public awareness of this rare but preventable infection.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) test the surfing station where Stabile ingested the amoeba, and the water park is voluntarily closed until the end of the CDC investigation, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald.
Ten days later, on September 26, Naegleria fowleri was also detected in a water system in Louisiana, near Shreveport, according to KTBS. The amoeba was discovered through a random system test on health and safety.
According to the CDC, Naegleria fowleri is responsible for amoebic meningoencephalitis (AMI), an infection of the brain that destroys brain tissue and is fatal. Its symptoms mimic those of bacterial meningitis and include fever, headache and nausea. After the onset of symptoms, patients die of PAM within five days.
The CDC says it is impossible to contract Naegleria fowleri by drinking contaminated water. However, as in the case of Stabile, Naegleria fowleri can be contracted when contaminated water enters the body through the nose, either into chlorinated pool water, or if it is used. Contaminated tap water to flush the sinuses.
Naegleria fowleri infections are not so common, but with a mortality rate greater than 97%, the survivors of Naegleria fowleri are extremely rare. In the United States, four of the 143 known infected individuals in the past 55 years have survived.
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