Naegleria fowleri claims one more life in Karachi

Naegleria fowleri or brain-eating bug has claimed one more life in Karachi as a 38-year old man died due to complications of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) at a private hospital during treatment.

So far, 12 people have lost their lives due to primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) caused by Naegleria fowleri in Karachi this year, officials said on Saturday. They advised people to get their underground and overhead water tanks cleaned and use chlorine tablets to disinfect the water as the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) had failed to supply safe water to the citizens.

“A 38-year old man, identified as Gul Haleem, was taken to the Imam Clinic in North Nazimabad on November 9 after his condition deteriorated at home. The patient was placed on life support but he could not survive due to multi-organ failure and passed away on the night between Friday and Saturday,” an official of the Sindh health department told The News. The health department official said the deceased was a resident of Business Society, Scheme 33, Gulshan-e-Maymar who complained of extreme headache, nausea and vomiting on November 7, 2023, and consulted a local doctor but his condition continued to deteriorate and ultimately, he was taken to the Imam Clinic where he passed away late on Friday night.

The official maintained that Naegleria fowleri is a freshwater microorganism which enters into the brain when through the nose. Usually, people get infected with the microorganism while taking bath, swimming or making ablutions.

He said colonies of Naegleria fowleri live in the mud accumulated in the water tanks and if the tanks are not cleaned regularly and chlorine is not added, this microorganism can infect the brain and cause death.

This was the second death due to the brain-eating bug in Karachi this month as earlier a man from the Buffer Zone area of the city also died due to PAM.