Brain-Eating Amoeba: How It Enters Victim's Brain and How to Lower Risk of Infection, as Told by CDC

Brain-eating amoeba is becoming the newest health concern after it took a life of an 18-year-old teen in North Carolina. What is brain-eating amoeba, how it enters the brain and how you can lower your risk of infection?

Brain-eating amoeba called Naegleria fowleri

Naegleria fowleri has a deadly consequence when it enters the brain. Although the organism can be found in contaminated swimming pool, freshwater lakes and tap water; the infections are often caused by swimming in rivers and lakes, CNN reported.

The habitat of Naegleria fowleri

The brain eating amoeba can be found in hot springs, freshwater lakes and rivers. Pools that are not disinfected properly can also contain Naegleria fowleri amoeba. The organism can survive in high temperature up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit and sometimes higher. The infections occur mostly in summer months.

Brain-eating amoeba travels through the nose

The free-living microscopic ameba can get into a human's brain by traveling through the nose. According to CDC, people do not get infections when swallowing water but it happens when the amoeba travels to brain through the nose. It causes a fatal condition where brain tissue is damaged and swollen. The symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting and headache that can occur up to nine days after the infection.

CDC says there are a few things to do to lower the risk of infection

When swimming in warm freshwater lakes, it is recommended to use nose clips or at least hold the nose closed. Swimmers can also avoid dipping their head into the water, CDC claimed.

Brain-eating amoeba is a rare case but it can cause fatal condition

CDC recorded this amoeba eating brain cases from 2006 to 2015 and found that it is a rare case with only 37 deaths being reported albeit millions of people swimming in freshwater lakes per year.

However, when a person is infected with this organism, it is almost always fatal with very few cases of survival. For instance, there were only three patients survived the fatality of this infection between 1962 and 2015.