Researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have found that the deadly “brain-eating” amoeba has begun to spread in the northern regions of the Earth. Previously, a microorganism that lives in warm freshwater bodies, more often caused infections in the southern states of the United States, reports the publication LiveScience.
Experts have analyzed cases of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, recorded over four decades. Although the annual number of infections remains the same, their geography is changing. The habitat of the microorganism Naegleria fowleri is shifting northward as more people in the US Midwest fall prey to the disease. Amebic meningoencephalitis is almost always fatal.
An infection occurs in the human body if he accidentally inhaled water, teeming with nongleria, through his nose. The infection enters the brain through the olfactory nerve, after which it begins to destroy the nerve tissue. The incubation period can range from a few days to about two weeks. Moreover, if a bather simply swallows dirty water that has not entered the nasal cavity, amoebic meningoencephalitis does not develop. You can prevent infection by using nose clips when bathing.
Naegleria fowleri lives, as a rule, in stagnant bodies of water with a water temperature of 45 degrees Celsius (sometimes infection occurs after visiting the pools). It is assumed that the habitat of the amoeba, which is found not only in the United States, but also in other countries, is expanding due to global warming.