Table of contents:
- Get to know AmoebaNaegleria fowleri who likes to swim in dirty water
- How about amoebaNaegleria fowleri infect humans?
- Signs and symptoms of amoebic infection Naegleria fowleri
- Can this infection be treated?
- How to prevent?
During the rainy season, it is not new if several areas in Indonesia are regularly flooded. Children playing and swimming through the floodwaters are no longer considered a strange phenomenon in our country. Even so, parents should as much as possible prohibit their children from swimming in dirty water. No matter how high the inundation is, the overflow of flood water can be contaminated by various disease-causing organisms.
Quoted from a study by Dr. Supakorn Rojananin, M.D., deputy head of the Faculty of Medicine and associate professor at Mahidol University, said that the floodwaters in East Jakarta in January 2005 contained colonies of E. coli bacteria and enteric Hepatitis A viruses two times higher than ordinary river water. Now, there is one more organism that, although rare, is still dangerous and even deadly. Its name is amoeba Naegleria fowleri.
Get to know Amoeba Naegleria fowleri who likes to swim in dirty water
Amoeba is a single cell organism that is very small and can infect humans. Recently a rare amoebic species was named Naegleria fowleri infected the brain of a teenager in the United States after he swam in murky water, a river near his home.
Amoeba Naegleria fowleri
Naegleria fowleri is an amoeba that is very small, which is 8 to 15 micrometers. In comparison, human hair is 40 to 50 micrometers in width. This type of amoeba is often found in warm fresh water, generally in rivers and lakes - especially dirty ones. This Amoeba can even be found in less clean swimming pools.
How about amoeba Naegleria fowleri infect humans?
Naegleria fowleri actually rarely infects humans. You can and may have had contact with these amoebae and not get sick. The reason is if swallowed, your stomach acid can kill him immediately. But if an infection occurs, it is usually fatal.
Infection can occur when these amoebae enter the body through the nostrils when you swim in cloudy water and inhale it. From there, amoeba infects the brain via the olfactory nerve fibers present in your nose. Because it infects the brain, Naegleria fowleri also known as brain-eating amoeba.
Between 1962 and 2015, out of 138 amoebic infections, only three survived according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States (the equivalent of Indonesia's DG of Disease Control).
Signs and symptoms of amoebic infection Naegleria fowleri
Infection Naegleria fowleri can cause a set of symptoms called primary amebic meningoencephalitis, which is characterized by inflammation of the brain that gradually destroys brain tissue. The common symptom is nausea and vomiting that occurs five days after first exposure to the amoeba.
Another set of symptoms can begin within 2 to 15 days of exposure to amoeba. Other signs and symptoms of naegleria infection can include:
- Changes in the sense of smell or taste
- Fever
- Serious and sudden headaches
- Stiff neck
- Sensitivity to light
- Nausea and vomiting
- Dazed
- Losing balance
- Drowsiness
- Convulsions
- Hallucinations
Can this infection be treated?
This amoebic infection is very deadly. After symptoms develop, an infected person can die within 5-7 days.
However, this can be prevented with proper treatment. In patients who have been infected with amoeba, the emergency treatment is a cancer drug called Impavido (miltefosine).
The main treatment for infection Naegleria fowleri is an antifungal drug, amphotericin B - usually injected into a vein (intravenously) or in the area around the spinal cord to kill amoeba.
How to prevent?
One prevention that can be taken to prevent this type of amoebic infection is to avoid swimming in dirty water and immersing your head (for example, swimming or diving) in the water. Also avoid bathing and washing your nose with contaminated water.
