Lately, the United States has had problems with a brain-eating amoeba. The situation is getting worse day by day.
Why everything?
began?
In 2022, deadly amoebic infections,brain-eating pathogens have been reported in states where waterborne pathogens have not previously been encountered. Also this year, at least three people died from brain-eating infections. The amoeba has already been discovered in lakes and rivers in Iowa, Nebraska and Arizona. So, in late October, the Southern Nevada Health District released a statement about the “death of a Clark County resident under the age of 18.” A brain-eating amoeba has caused a deadly infection.
What is an amoeba?
Amoeba, also known as amoeboid, representsis a type of cell or single-celled creature that can change shape by extending and retracting its pseudopods. Also known as pseudopodia, these cytoplasmic projections can be found in unicellular organisms and some types of multicellular cells. Their cells are used to move and catch large particles.
Amoebas are found in all major lineageseukaryotic species and do not belong to any taxonomic category. Amoeboid cells can be found not only in protozoa, but also in fungi, algae and even mammals.
Which of them are we talking about?
One type of amoeba causes irreversible infectionbrain: Naegleria fowleri. It is commonly known as the "brain-eating amoeba." It is a shape-changing species of the genus Naegleria and an amoeboflagellate. Naegleria fowleri is a free-living microbe that feeds on bacteria and can be pathogenic and also cause negleriosis, also known as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). It is a very rare, sudden, severe, and usually fatal disease of the brain and central nervous system (CNS).
Where does she meet?
Naegleria fowleri is commonly found in warm fresh water bodies such as lakes and rivers and geothermal waters such as hot springs.
How does an amoeba cause disease?
Amoebas cannot reproduce by division untilare in a flagellar form. However, if they lose their “whip”, they may separate. Amoeba infects people by entering the body through the nose, and then into the brain. It is not dangerous if water is swallowed and is not spread from person to person.
Amoebas entering the olfactory canalpass through the nasal mucosa and settle in the cerebrospinal fluid and brain. They cause meningitis, an infectious inflammation of the meninges of the brain and spinal cord, accompanied by intoxication and fever. Patients also experience symptoms of rhinitis, nausea, headache and eye pain. After a short time, loss of consciousness, coma and death occurs.
Why has the situation worsened?
According to the Centers for Disease Control,soil and warm fresh water are an ideal haven for Naegleria fowleri. Regardless of state, amoebas can be found in any freshwater body of water in the United States, especially during the summer months of July, August, and September.
Naegleria fowleri is thermophilicbody. It can withstand higher temperatures for short periods of time, but grows best at high temperatures, up to 46°C. When experts examined lakes and rivers where cases of PAM had been reported, they found that water temperatures were typically above 27°C. However, amoebas can survive in water at or below this temperature.
According to The Guardian, Naegleria in the USusually found only in the southern states, but in recent years it has gradually moved north. A 2021 study found that the amoeba is also spreading to regions in the Midwest, although infection rates have not changed. It was found even far to the north, in the state of Minnesota.
Is there a danger for Russia?
In this case, the cold climate of Russia turned out to bevery handy. In Russia, such a disease has not yet been recorded; at least, there is no mention of this in the specialized literature. However, due to global warming, the disease may spread to colder regions. Thus, in the same Minnesota where amoebas were found, throughout the year the temperature usually fluctuates from –13 °C to 28 °C and rarely falls below –24 °C or above 33 °C.
How to avoid the disease?
As a preventive measure, it is suggested to avoid swimming in fresh water in hot weather, use nose clips when relaxing in pools and water parks.
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