Brain-eating amoeba claims first victim of the year in city

The dreaded amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, has claimed the first life of the year in Karachi as a 40-year old person died due to Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM) at a local hospital, Sindh health department officials have confirmed.

Dubbed the brain-eating amoeba, Naegleria folweri is found in fresh water, including rivers, streams and lakes, and get activated in the summer when temperatures cross 40 degrees Celsius. The deadly amoeba can enter the body through the nose during ablution or swimming in freshwater lakes or non-chlorinated swimming pools.

Dr Zafar Mehdi, the convener of the Naegleria fowleri monitoring committee, told The News on Monday that 40-year-old Parvaiz, a resident of Gulistan-e-Jauhar, died due an infection of Naegleria fowleri infection at the Liaquat National Hospital on Sunday.

“This is the first death due to Naegleria fowleri infection in Karachi this year,” he said. According to officials of the health department, this is the 50th death caused by the microbe in the city since 2011. One person fell victim to the infection in 2011, nine in 2012 and three in 2013, an official said. According to Kamran Rizvi, the health department’s District Officer Preventive, Naegleria fowleri claimed 15 lives in 2014, 12 in 2015, three in 2016 and six last year.

Committee notified

Following the first death of the year from the amoeba, the Sindh health department at last notified its six-member Naegleria fowleri monitoring committee, which would be headed by Dr Zafar Mehdi of the health department as convener, and also comprise representatives from Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB), Public Health Engineering Department, DMCs and KMC.

“The Naegleria fowleri monitoring committee would inspect the KWSB pumping stations for chlorination of water, public swimming pools in the city and create awareness about preventing infection from the brain-eating amoeba,” Mehdi said.

On the other hand, the health department of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) issued a health advisory regarding Naegleria fowleri, advising people to use boiled or chlorinated water for ablution, avoid swimming in pools which are created due to the broken water lines and clean their underground and overhead water tanks.

“Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis is a deadly disease with 100 per cent mortality and the only option to avoid contracting the disease is taking precautionary measures,” KMC Senior Director Health and Medical Services Dr Birbal Genani told The News.

According to a recent research by infectious diseases experts at Aga Khan University Hospital, large colonies of Naegleria fowleri are present in the thick layers of mud accumulated in the overhead and underground tanks of the apartment buildings, homes and mosques in the city, spelling a major potential public health hazard.

Other experts have claimed that environmental pollution in Keenjhar Lake and the Hub Dam – where most of Karachi’s water comes from – has also increased the presence of Naegleria fowleri in fresh water. But, the city’s water utility has taken no steps to chlorinate the water before it is supplied, which is the most effective way of killing microorganisms.

“Regular cleaning of underground and overhead tanks is a must to avoid the build-up of sediments that can harbour such bugs,” Genani said, adding that people should also add chlorine to their tanks to kill any microorganisms lurking there.