The presence of an amoeba species has been detected in several cities in the southern United States. Although extremely rare, the infection caused by this amoeba is fatal to humans.
US health officials are worried. Indeed, the presence of a species of amoeba, extremely rare but deadly for humans, has been detected in the drinking water distribution system of three municipalities in Louisiana (southern United States.) A system that supplies more than 12,000 inhabitants.
An amoeba named “Naegleria fowleri”
The amoeba is a single-celled animal living in fresh wastewater: lakes, poorly maintained swimming pools. The species identified in the southern United States is a free amoeba named Naegleria fowleri. It is responsible for primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (MEAP.)
Naegleria fowleri enters the nasal cavities when they are flooded. It continues on its way through the olfactory nerve, until it reaches the brain, destroying everything in its path. Symptoms appear 3 to 7 days after the introduction of the amoeba into the body: headache, dizziness, lightning meningitis, vomiting. In 95% of cases, the infection is fatal.
Protect the nose when swimming
This was the case for the 9-year-old girl Kelly Yust, who died last July in the state of Kansas. While a wind of panic blows on the south of the United States, the health expert Jimmy Guidry, recalls that there are simple precautionary measures to protect this: “The most important thing is to avoid that water enters the nose when bathing or swimming in a pool, ”he explains.
310 cases in the world for 50 years
For 50 years, 310 cases have been recorded worldwide. Only 11 people survived. A single case of MEAP has been identified in France. It was in 2008. A 9-year-old boy died of lightning meningitis after bathing in a pool in Guadeloupe supplied by a hot spring. The presence of Naegleria fowleri had been detected there.
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