By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews
Health officials in Karachi, Pakistan are reporting another Naegleria fowleri case in the city, the seventh of the year to date, in a 38-year-old man of North Karachi.
He was admitted to the Ziauddin Hospital and is in the ICU after being denied treatment at two other hospitals.
According to a report prepared by the Regional Disease Surveillance and Response Unit, the risk factor in this case was piped water.
“There is an urgent need to assess the process of chlorination and level of chlorine at all major water reservoirs supplying water to the city as per the WHO recommendation. Cleanliness must be maintained at all reservoirs, overhead tanks/other reservoirs of households, pumping stations and hydrants on a regular basis,” the report says.
Naegleria fowleri causes primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) which is almost always fatal. Naegleria fowleri is waterborne, and its infections are usually associated with aquatic activities but it can also be transmitted via the domestic water supply. An increasing number of N. fowleri cases have been reported from Pakistan.
The first case of N. fowleri was reported from Karachi, Pakistan, in 2008. Since 2014, there have been more than 50 cases reported in Karachi alone.
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