Karachi youth dies of Naegleria infection

KARACHI: The deadly brain-eating amoeba has taken the life of a 23-year-old youth in Karachi after contracting Naegleria.

According to a spokesperson for the Sindh Health Department, the deceased was a resident of Orangi Town and had been receiving treatment at a hospital after falling ill.

The youth began showing symptoms of Naegleria on May 28 and was admitted to the hospital on May 30. On June 1, the presence of Naegleria fowleri was confirmed.

This is the second death caused by Naegleria in Sindh this year, and both victims were residents of Karachi, the health department said.

With a fatality rate of more than 98 percent, it is transmitted through contaminated water when it comes in contact through nose. It is, however, not transmissible from one person to another.

More than a 100 people have died since the deadly Naegleria fowleri emerged in 2008, while five people died from the infection last year.

The symptoms of the infection range from severe headache, high fever, change in taste, sensitivity to light, nausea and vomiting, with patient succumbing to the infection within five to seven days.

According to a 2021 study conducted by the Sindh Health Department, around 95 percent of water samples in Karachi were unfit for human consumption. The contamination is a leading contributor to the spread of deadly amoeba.