A Chinese man died in September after free-living amoebas picked up on a family vacation began feeding on his brain, SZ News reported Sunday.
A Shenzhen resident named Mr. He reportedly visited a local scenic spot with his wife and two kids on Aug. 14. While playing in the water, he acquired unexpected and deadly souvenirs, naegleria flowleri, also called “brain-eating amoebas.”
Naegleria fowleri, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are amoebas, single-celled organisms, that are commonly found in warm freshwater.
Five days after the amoebas entered He’s body, he began to experience headaches and coughing fits. He dismissed it as a cold and continued on as though everything was normal. He even traveled to Zhejiang with his wife.
He was admitted to the Department of Neurology at the Shenzhen People’s No. 3 Hospital on Aug. 21 after his symptoms worsened and his condition deteriorated.
He died on September 3.
The Department of Infections Diseases at the hospital where He was treated said he died of Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM) or naegleriasis. Initial symptoms include headaches, followed by fever and vomiting. As the illness progresses, the patient experiences neck stiffness, hallucinations, seizures, and paralysis and death.
Most cases of PAM, about 95 percent, are fatal because it progresses rapidly and is not easily detected. The free-living amoebas feed on other bacteria but will also feed on the brain, leading to a deadly fulminant brain infection. The infection destroys brain tissue, which results in brain swelling and death.
He most likely got water in his nose. Drinking contaminated water will not result in an infection.
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