Naegleria Fowleri is a fresh water killer that is never seen coming. Its dangerous and contact can be fatal, and 100% of the polled student population had never heard of it. “Some organisms can live either as parasites or as free-living forms; they are called facultative parasites. ”(Britannica) Naegleria Fowleri is a amoeba that lives in fresh water. “It can live from pools without enough chlorine, to rivers.
This amoeba can also thrive in lakes and ponds”(Jay) Meaning you can be in danger of being infected at any time. “A total of 36 high-use recreational surface waters in Arizona were surveyed over a period of two years to assess the occurrence of N. fowleri and seasonal and environmental factors. Overall, 9. 3% of the warm weather samples collected were positive for N. fowleri, whereas 16. 3% of the samples were positive during cold weather. ” (Sifuentes) “A total of 2,454 samples from 467 households were examined. Amoebae were found in water samples of 371 (79%) households.
Sites most likely to contain amoeba were shower heads (52%) and kitchen sprayers (50%)” (Sifuentes) “Naegleria fowleri has 3 stages in its life cycle: ameboid trophozoites , flagellates, and cysts. The only infective stage of the ameba is the ameboid trophozoite. Trophozoites infect humans or animals by penetrating the nasal tissue and migrating to the brain by the the olfactory nerves causing primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM)”(CDC). Naegleria fowleri can be killed by drying. “Drying makes trophozoites nonviable instantly, and cysts nonviable in less than 5 minutes. (Tally) Or it can also be killed if you swallow it because of the stomach acid”(Tally). “Also saltwater is known to kill it. ”(Warren) “Naegleria fowleri is a heat-loving ameba able to grow and survive at higher temperatures, such as those found in hot springs and in the human body, even under fever temperatures. Naegleria fowleri grows best at tempatures up to 115°F. Although the amebae will not be able to grow well, Naegleria fowleri can still survive at higher temperatures for short periods of time.
The trophozoites and cysts can survive from minutes to hours at 122-149°F with the cysts being more resistant to these tempatures. Although trophozoites are killed quickly by refrigeration, cysts can survive for weeks to months at cold temperatures above freezing, although they appear to be sensitive to freezing. As a result, colder temperatures are likely to cause Naegleria fowleri to encyst in lake and river sediment where the cyst offers more protection from freezing water temperatures. CDC)” This is also one way to get infected because the sediment holds the Naegleria Fowleri and when the sediment is picked up by various things, you can get infected by the naegleria fowleri parasite. “Infections have tended to occur in the midst of heatwaves. Also during the summer when water tempatures are warm. No data exist to accurately estimate the true risk of Naegleria Fowleri. Hundreds of millions of visits to swimming places occur each year in the U. S. that result in only 0-8 infections per year.
The extremely rare occurrence of Naegleri Fowleri makes study difficult. It is unknown why certain people become infected with the amebae while millions of others exposed to warm recreational fresh waters do not. Attempts have been made to figure out what concentration of Naegleria fowleri in the environment is an unacceptable risk. However, no method currently exists that accurately measures the numbers of amebae in the water. This makes it unclear how a standard might be set to protect human health and how public health officials would measure and enforce such a standard. (CDC) Although water treatment plants probably will eliminate it (Naegleria Fowleri) with filtration and chemical treatment, still, we recommend you use distilled or boiled water. The risk is low, but it’s a risk you don’t need to take. “(Peterson) “There have been 123 cases reported and only one survivor in the U. S. ”(Tally) This shows how deadly the disease is and how there is no cure for it. “PAM infections have been reported from around the world. Infections have primarily occurred in southern-tier states in the U. S. , but an infection was documented in Minnesota in 2010 .
Over half of all reported infections have occurred in Florida and Texas. In the United States and the rest of the world, PAM is primarily spread via swimming in warm freshwater lakes and rivers (about 3 out of 4 U. S. infections from 1962-2011) . Other recreational water types like hot springs and canals have also been linked to PAM infections. (CDC) “Humans become infected when water containing Naegleria fowleri enters the nose and the ameba migrates to the brain along the olfactory nerve. People do not become infected from drinking contaminated water.
Symptoms start 1-7 days (median 5 days) after swimming exposure and people die 1-12 days (median 5. 3 days) after symptoms begin. PAM is difficult to detect because the disease progresses rapidly so that diagnosis is usually made after death. Signs and symptoms of the infection usually will include: severe frontal headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, seizures, altered mental status, hallucinations, coma. ”(CDC) “Since 2000, the number of deaths caused by water-based amoebae has doubled and recreational water outbreaks have tripled. ”( Sifuentes) There are actually some documented survivors. Although most cases of primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) caused by Naegleria fowleri infection in the United States have been fatal (122/123 in the U. S. ), there have been two well-documented survivors in North America: one in California and one in Mexico . It has been suggested that the survivor’s strain of Naegleria fowleri was less virulent, which contributed to the patient’s recovery. In laboratory experiments, the California survivor’s strain did not cause damage to cells as rapidly as other strains, suggesting that it is less virulent than strains recovered from other fatal infections.
Multiple patients have received treatment similar to the California survivor, including amphotericin B, miconazole/fluconazole/ketoconazole, and/or rifampin but only the patient in Mexico has survived making it difficult to determine the efficacy of the treatment regimen. ” (CDC) “Naegleria fowleri occurrence is common, infections are rare. The relationship between finding Naegleria fowleri in the water and the occurrence of infections is unclear. The location and number of amebae in the water can vary over time within the same lake or river”(CDC)
