Brain-Eating Amoeba: How It Spreads and Why It’s So Dangerous, Reveals Expert

A Mumbai-based doctor has cautioned against venturing into dirty water – even as cases of brain-eating amoeba rise. According to Dr Amit Lala Khomane, a diabetologist, the deadly infections spread due to Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis, or PAM, a rare but highly fatal brain infection. “Unraveling the deadly secrets of the brain-eating amoeba—nature’s tiny terror that demands awareness and vigilance,” Dr Amit said on his Instagram account. More than 21 people have died, and 80 confirmed cases have been registered in Kerala, with most fatalities happening over the last two months. According to state health authorities, while the cause of the cases is being investigated, the state has developed its own testing facilities in all the microbiology

labs. Dr Amit says the amoeba stays in contaminated water like lakes, ponds, and other water bodies. “It does not enter from your mouth but through your nose and gets inside your brain,” he said. Naegleria fowleri lives throughout the world in warm and shallow bodies of fresh water like lakes, rivers, and springs – apart from the soil. Considered a free-living organism, as it does not need a host to live, this amoeba causes PAM, which infects your central nervous system. "While it is rare, when it strikes, the fatality rate is more than 97 per cent,” he added.

How to protect yourself from brain-eating amoeba?

To protect yourself from PAM, Dr Amit has the following tips:

• Since it spreads through contaminated water, make sure not to enter unfiltered lakes or swimming pools at all.
• Do not let any kind of water enter through your nostrils.
• Make sure the pool water is always treated with chlorine.
• If you do develop symptoms of fever or headache after going into warm freshwater, go to the doctor immediately.

Signs and symptoms of PAM

The signs and symptoms of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis come on suddenly and are severe at the start, including:

• High fever
• Severe headache
• Nausea and vomiting
• Trembling
• Symptoms like those of meningitis, which include a stiff neck and extreme sensitivity to light
• Mental confusion
• Coma