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KARACHI: According to a Sindh Health Department spokesperson, at least three residents of Karachi have died from the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri in the first two weeks of July. Two of these deaths occurred this week.
Naegleria fowleri is found in freshwater sources such as lakes, ponds, rivers, hot springs, poorly maintained swimming pools and pipes connected to tap water. The microorganism enters the human body through the nose, causing a sudden and often fatal brain infection called naegleriasis.
The problem is relatively new in Pakistan, with the first case reported in Karachi in 2008. Since then, more than a hundred people have died from the infection, with all three cases reported in July this year in Karachi.
Sindh Health Department spokesperson Ali Nawaz Channa said that the latest deaths occurred on Thursday. “A 35-year-old man died at Aga Khan Hospital while a 22-year-old garment factory worker died at Jinnah Hospital.”
According to the health department report, the family of the 22-year-old youth said that he had gone to a nearby swimming pool with friends last Sunday. He developed fever on Monday and was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday. On Thursday, his condition worsened and despite being put on ventilator, he did not survive.
The second patient was admitted to the Aga Khan Hospital and died after a “ten-day battle with high-grade fever”. The family suspects that the infection occurred while performing ablution at a nearby mosque.
According to the Health Department, before these cases, another patient died from Karangi area of Karachi last Friday.
A study conducted in 2021 by the Sindh Health Department in 50 Union Councils of Karachi found that 95 percent of the water samples were completely unfit for human consumption. Experts believe that this is a major reason behind the spread of the brain-eating amoeba.
Symptoms of primary amebic meningoencephalitis, a brain infection caused by amoeba, include severe headache, taste changes, high fever, sensitivity to light, nausea and vomiting. Symptoms appear within 24 hours of infection, but because of the similarity to meningitis, the infection is rarely diagnosed with a blood test.
Medical experts warn that late treatment is often ineffective.
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