In Pakistan, a man has died after visiting a pool from a rare infection with the so-called brain-eating amoeba. The thirty-year-old died in a hospital in the metropolis of Lahore, as reported by Pakistani media. Punjab Provincial Health Minister Javed Akram confirmed an infection with the pathogen Naegleria fowleri to the German Press Agency on Thursday.
The man was a bodybuilder, according to research by The Express Tribune newspaper. He had complained of a severe headache while swimming and had been taken to the emergency room. He later died in the clinic.
Infections with the parasite Naegleria fowleri are extremely rare, but are almost always fatal. According to the Robert Koch Institute, the organism is particularly widespread in the subtropics and tropics. It can also spread in poorly disinfected pools.
The parasite spreads mainly in warm waters and can get into a person’s brain through their nose when they swim. There it can cause meningitis. According to the Robert Koch Institute, the disease begins with fever, vomiting, nausea, headache and stiff neck. Changes in body control and perception follow. In most cases, the meningitis then leads to coma and death within a very short time.
