Pakistan
Bodybuilder Dies After Bathing From Very Rare ‘Brain-Eating Amoeba’
Pathogen Naegleria fowleri under the microscope: infections are very rare, but usually fatal
© agefotostock / Imago Images
A 30-year-old bodybuilder has died in Pakistan after swimming in a pool. He had become infected with the highly dangerous pathogen Naegleria fowleri.
A quick dip in the pool was a bodybuilder off Pakistan’s undoing. The 30-year-old from Lahore, the country’s second largest city, had to be taken to the hospital and died there, reports the Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune.
According to the authorities in Punjab province, laboratory tests showed that the man was infected with the pathogen Naegleria fowleri. This is what is known as a brain-eating amoeba. Infections are rare – but in the few cases they are extremely dangerous and very often fatal.
Infections can quickly lead to death
According to the Express Tribune, the deceased complained of a severe headache after swimming and was therefore taken to the hospital. After laboratory tests confirmed infection with the pathogen, he was transferred to the intensive care unit. A doctor told the newspaper that medical staff did their best but were unable to save the man because it was the first case of its kind in the city. In Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, on the other hand, there have already been six deaths linked to Naegleria fowleri in the past year.
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The amoebas are found in contaminated warm fresh water, for example in water tanks or swimming pools. They enter the brain of swimmers through the nose and trigger meningitis and tissue reactions. In most cases, these quickly lead to death. Typical symptoms are headaches, a stiff neck, sensitivity to light, nausea and vomiting. Many infections are often only recognized after death. The pathogen mostly occurs in the tropics and subtropics.
Sources: “The Express Tribune” / Robert Koch Institute / MSD manual
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