<h1 class="ql-align-center"><strong style="color: rgb(230, 0, 0);">Naegleria fowleri / Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis</strong></h1><p class="ql-align-center"><br></p><h3><strong>Context </strong></h3><ul><li><strong>South Korea</strong> reported its first case of infection from Naegleria fowleri or <strong>“brain-eating amoeba”.</strong></li></ul><p><br></p><h3><strong>About </strong></h3><ul><li><strong>Naegleria fowleri is an amoeba</strong> (a single-celled living organism) that is found in soil and in warm freshwater bodies like lakes, rivers and hot springs.</li><li>According to the <strong>US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)</strong>, with the rising global temperatures. The organism best grows in high temperatures up to 46°C and sometimes can survive at even higher temperatures.</li></ul><p><br></p><h3><strong>Spread </strong>-</h3><ul><li>It was first discovered in <strong>Australia in 1965.</strong></li><li>So far, Naegleria fowleri has been found in all continents and declared as the cause of <strong>PAM (Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis)</strong> in over 16 countries, including India.</li></ul><p><br></p><h3>Infection -</h3><ul><li>The amoeba enters the human body through the nose and then travels up to the brain.</li><li>Once Naegleria fowleri goes to the brain, it destroys brain tissues and causes a dangerous infection known as<strong> primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).</strong></li></ul><p><br></p><h3><strong>Fatality - </strong></h3><ul><li>The <strong>'primary amoebic meningoencephalitis' (PAM)</strong> is widely reported to be fatal.</li><li>PAM is difficult to detect in its early stages and it spreads rapidly.</li><li>The disease is usually discovered after the patient has died.</li></ul><p><br></p><h3><strong>Symptoms of PAM:</strong></h3><ul><li>The first signs of PAM start showing within one to 12 days after the infection. In the initial stages, they might be similar to <strong>symptoms of meningitis, which are headache, nausea and fever.</strong></li><li>In the later stages, one can suffer from a <strong>stiff neck, seizures, hallucinations, and even coma.</strong></li></ul><p><br></p><h1 class="ql-align-center">PRELIMS NOTES:<a href="https://www.sunyaias.com/subscription-details/prelims-2023-sunya-notes-current-affairs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">CLICK HERE</a></h1>