Amoeba Invasion!

Amoebas are unicellular microscopic organisms. They can be described as many things: tiny, cute, and potentially deadly? Enter: Naegleria Fowleri, an infamous amoeba, while rare it is widely known for its reputation of fatal diseases. But what exactly makes this microorganism so terrifying? How does it infect people and what are its effects?

Naegleria Fowleri can be found in fresh waters around the world such as lakes, rivers, ponds, and even hot springs. It mainly lives in the sediments at the bottom of the water. However it is very possible for the amoeba to live in your pool or sink if your water is poorly treated. Now the most common cause of Naegleria folweri’s infection known as PAM (Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis) is due to people jumping or diving into such waters forcing some of it up their noses. This is a one way ticket for the single celled organism to reach your brain.

How does this work? Well, when the amoeba first invades your body through your nostrils. It makes its way to the olfactory nerve which functions for our sense of smell. For Naegleria this is like a train ride to its destination because the olfactory nerve leads right into the brain. Once it reaches the brain it begins to start eating brain tissue with little suction cups on it. Symptoms usually include nausea, headache, vomiting, seizures, hallucinations, and confusion. Typically it only takes about 5 days after symptoms of your demise from this critter, and death is always certain too, Naegleria Fowleri is known to have a 97% chance of killing its victims. 

Why is this? In response to the infiltration in your brain your body sends out your immune cells to try to counter the attack, but unfortunately this does not do you any favor due to the fact that this causes an inflammation in the brain. What’s worse is that when you get a fever from this internal battle, it only helps out the amoeba because naegleria folweri thrives in higher temperatures, this allows it to spread more efficiently. 

Now, what kills you in the end is the intense swelling in the brain, this along with the amoeba feeding on your brain tissue, destroys a crucial part of the brain that controls important functions like breathing, this leads to the patient perishing in a horrible death. Once someone is diagnosed with naegleria fowleri it is considered too late to possibly ever treat them. Unfortunately there are no such treatments that we have to counter this fatal disease, however,  despite all of this you should have little reason to be concerned as this disease is extremely rare. There are only about 3 cases annualy in the U.S. and a total of 157 people have gotten it since 1962.

If you’re terrified of naegleria fowleri after reading this you can decrease your chances of getting infected by: Avoid jumping in fresh waters during warm months such as June to September. Also you should refrain from kicking up sediments at the bottom of the water because that’s where naegleria likes to hang out. The last thing you can do is wear a nose plug to avoid water splashing up your nose but once again you should not panic over this too much.