KARACHI: A seventh case of "brain-eating amoeba" infection has been reported in Karachi since the beginning of the year, as officials warn 95 percent of water pumped to households in Pakistan's largest city is unfit for human consumption, increasing exposure to the waterborne parasite.
The amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, is found in freshwater habitats — lakes, ponds, rivers, hot springs — and poorly managed swimming pools and pipes connected to tap water. The microorganism can enter the human body through the nose and cause a sudden infection of the brain called naegleriasis. In most cases, the infection is fatal.
It is a relatively new problem in Pakistan, where the first case was recorded in Karachi, Sindh province in 2008. It has since killed at least 100 people in the city — forty-four in the past six years, according to data from the Sindh province's health department’s Naegleria monitoring and inspection team.
The latest case was reported last week, when a 38-year-old man was admitted to Ziauddin Hospital on Tuesday.
"Karachi has reported its seventh case of the year, while none of the previous six patients has survived," Dr. Shakeel Ahmed, a member the health department’s team, told Arab News last week.
Five of this year's fatal cases, he added, were caused by contamination of water either in the city’s distribution pumps or private tanks, as 95 percent of the city's water supplies are unfit for human consumption.
“In a study conducted in 150 Union Councils of Karachi in June 2021, 95 percent of the samples were found with water completely unfit for human consumption," Dr. Ahmed said.
It is not only the pipelines but also other poorly managed reservoirs that may be breeding grounds for the microorganism.
“Underground tanks are not cleansed for years due to which mud gathers at the bottom, which helps microorganisms grow exponentially," Dr. Ahmed said.
Common symptoms of primary amebic meningoencephalitis, the brain infection caused by the amoeba, include extreme headache, changes in taste, high fever, sensitivity to light, nausea and vomiting.
Dr. Ahmed said some people had also complained of stiff neck, disorientation, sleepiness, loss of balance, hallucinations and seizures.
The symptoms occur within 24 hours of infection, yet since they are similar to meningitis, the infection is rarely diagnosed at an early stage with a blood test, and its late treatment hardly works.
In July, 30-year-old neurosurgeon Majid Ismail Chandio died of the infection which was not diagnosed in time.
“If a doctor couldn’t diagnose it in time, how would people do,” Dr. Ahmed said. "Only precautions can save you. Clean your tanks and add chlorine!”
