After the experience of Covid-19, many people may be sensitive to reports of a rare disease surfacing anywhere in the world.
So it won’t help matters that a South Korean man has recently passed away due to something known by the scary name of “brain-eating amoeba”.
He was the first case reported in the country.
In a press release on Monday (26 Dec), the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the case had returned to South Korea after staying in Thailand for four months.
He was a man in his 50s who had returned to the country on 10 Dec, according to the Korea Herald.
The South Korean citizen was admitted to hospital the next day after developing symptoms of meningitis.
He sadly passed away last Wednesday (21 Dec).
In hospital, the health authorities conducted tests for three types of pathogens that cause Naegleria fowleri, commonly known as “brain-eating amoeba”, KCDA said.
An amoeba is a single-celled living organism that lives in soil and water. It can enter the body by inhalation.
Naegleria fowleri is called the “brain-eating amoeba” because it can cause a brain infection when water containing it goes up one’s nose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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Initial symptoms may include headache, fever, nausea and vomiting. Loss of language ability and neck stiffness may also be found in sufferers.
While KDCA said cases are rare worldwide, clinical awareness is important for early diagnosis and treatment.
That’s because symptoms progress quickly and are fatal after infection.
Only three people get infected in the United States (US) every year, but they usually pass away from it, the CDC said.
Thankfully, human-to-human transmission is not possible, KDCA said.
As for the deceased, the health authorities found that the gene sequence in his body was 99.6% similar to that in meningitis patients abroad.
Thus, they confirmed that he had passed away from the “brain-eating amoeba”.
His case is the first reported in South Korea.
The first-ever case of “brain-eating amoeba” was reported in the US state of Virginia in 1937.
To prevent infection from “brain-eating amoeba”, the KDCA advised the public to refrain from swimming in areas where the disease has been reported.
That’s because infection occurs frequently during swimming and leisure activities in lakes or rivers.
People should also take special care when travelling to areas where infections have been reported.
So far, it has been reported in the US, India, China, Thailand, Japan and now South Korea.
The US has had 54 infections from 1962 to 2021. Only four cases have survived.
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Featured image adapted from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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