On August 13, California authorities confirmed the death of David Pruitt, a seven-year-old boy who died of contracting the so-called ‘brain-eating’ amoeba . He contracted this amoeba by swimming in a lake days before he was admitted to the hospital for experiencing severe headaches and general malaise.
The ‘brain-eating’ amoeba is a living unicellular microbe that usually lives in fresh water and is almost lethal for the person who, unfortunately, crosses its path.
On July 30, David Pruitt was admitted to the hospital with severe headaches . There, the health workers who treated him had to put him on life support because his brain had swollen. This inflammation worsened in the following days and five days later his death was certified.
Parents and relatives have started an awareness campaign so that the world knows about this terrible disease. “We are helping to raise awareness about this amoeba. This may seem too weird for it to happen to you, but what’s weird is that doctors look for it in the first place. Parents need to know the signs and demand that doctors listen and defend those who may have contracted this amoeba »explained their relatives.
A deadly disease
This type of amoeba is very rare. There are actually many types of amoebas, but only Naegleria Fowleri is the life threatening to humans. The way it enters our body is through the nose, and it goes to the brain to destroy all the tissue in it.
According to experts, this type of ‘brain-eating’ amoeba has a mortality rate of 97% since very few people usually save their lives once they come into contact with the microorganism.
The amoeba is usually in swamps and fresh waters, and to prevent it from entering the brain, it is best to blow your nose well and expel all the water that we think we have ingested with the amoeba.
As expressed in the data available on this particular deadly parasite for humans, from 1962 to 2016, 143 infected were registered in the United States, of which only 4 of them managed to survive.
This deadly parasite also had a presence in Spain a few years ago. In 2018, a pool in Toledo registered a contagion from a girl, who managed to survive the amoeba. The following year, the same pool again registered the presence of the ‘brain-eating’ amoeba and ended up shutting down forever.
