Correction: It is 12 victims, not 13, as previously reported. RH.
Another victim of the brain-eating amoeba, Naegleria fowleri has been reported from the Karachi area, according to an Express Tribune report Thursday. This makes the 12th fatality due to the dangerous amoeba this year in the region.
Like the other cases reported this year, there is no link to swimming, in fact it is not clear how this individual contracted the parasite.
During the summer of 2012, this area of Pakistan reported 10 Naegleria deaths.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Humans become infected whenwater containing Naegleria fowleri enters the nose, usually while swimming. People do not get infected by drinking contaminated water. The amoeba migrates to the brain along the olfactory nerve, through a bonyplate in the skull called the cribriform plate, where it reaches the brain and begins to destroy the brain tissue. The amoeba has never been shown to havespread from one person to another.
Cases due to the use of neti pots and the practice of ablution have been documented. The practice of ablution is included in Yogic, Ayurvedic, and Islamictraditions. Within the Islamic faith, ritual nasal rinsing is included in a cleansing process called “wudu” or “ablution.” It is usually performed several times a day in preparation for prayer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Naegleria fowleri is not found in salt water, like the ocean. For more infectious disease news andinformation, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page
