A brain-eating amoeba is headed to Britain because of climate change, a leading expert has warned.
Naegleria fowleri, which can lurk in tap water as well as rivers, ponds and lakes, kills up to 99 percent of people who become infected.
The microscopic parasite enters through the nose, crawls through the nasal cavity and enters the brain, where it then chews and destroys.
Initial symptoms may include headache, fever and vomiting, before progressing to a stiff neck, confusion and loss of balance.
Microbiologist Professor Naveed Khan, who has decades of experience researching Naegleria and other amoebae, told MailOnline that the outcome in the vast majority of infections is ‘you die’.
The brain-eating parasite (photo) occurs worldwide in fresh water, but is only fatal to humans when it lives in warmer waters of 25 to 30 degrees.
Although this is more common in warmer climates, Professor Khan, currently based in a laboratory in Edinburgh, has previously seen Naegleria at UK water treatment sites in London and Nottingham. However, that was before the water was treated.
But he warned of the risk from the parasite, which cannot spread by drinking contaminated water. could rise along with climate change.
Similar claims have also been made in the US, with cases of Naegleria spreading north in recent decades.
“With London getting very hot weather, I think it’s a serious problem here too,” Professor Khan said.
Naegleria occurs worldwide in fresh water and soil, including in Great Britain.
In many recorded infections, people have contracted the parasite while swimming in open fresh water, such as lakes and rivers in warm climates
Professor Khan says it is only fatal to humans if the water temperature rises above 30 degrees.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the heat-loving parasite can survive in cold and even icy water.
Higher temperatures provide a more favorable environment for the amoeba to transform into an ‘infectious form’, where it develops a biological ‘hook’ to attach to cells lining the nose, aiding it on its journey to enter the brain .
Once it reaches the brain, it destroys tissue and causes swelling, which quickly leads to death within a week.
The symptoms come on quickly and can be mistaken for meningitis, meaning patients are at risk of not contracting the infection until it is too late for treatment.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people treated with a combination of medications, including antibiotics and steroids, have survived.
Cases of Naegleria are extremely rare in the developed world, thanks to chlorinated and properly treated water. It is reported that only about three people in the US get sick each year.
One person in Florida died last March after becoming infected.
Officials believe they contracted the disease by rinsing their sinuses with tap water containing the amoeba, as drinking such water poses no danger.
Such deaths are even rarer in Britain. In 1978, a young girl died after contracting the deadly parasite while swimming in the Roman Baths in Bath. The facility, which was built around 70 CE on the site of geothermal springs, has not been used for bathing since, but is still open as a museum.
However, Professor Khan said that as summers in Britain slowly warm, the risk from the parasite increases.
In many cases of recorded infections, people are believed to have become infected while swimming in open fresh water, such as lakes and rivers, in warm climates.
Such an infection can be prevented by using nose plugs while swimming in nature.
But you don’t necessarily have to worry about getting the brain-eating amoeba out of well-maintained pools.
That’s because chlorine is enough to kill the parasite, Professor Khan said.
However, naegleria is a risk for people who use tap water to flush their sinuses, if the water is not clean. In Great Britain this is not a problem.
People typically use a device such as a neti pot to flush water through their sinuses to clear blockages.
However, they are urged to use specifically sterilized water to avoid the potential risk of infection from tap water.
Professor Khan, who has taught microbiology at universities around the world, said the devices could be a ‘breeding ground’ for the amoeba, especially if people leave water in them for long periods of time.
“If this water is not clean, it can cause serious risks,” he said.
“If the water is left in the neti pot for an extended period of time, the chlorine with which the water was treated can evaporate.”
Professor Khan found the brain-eating bug in its dormant form in Britain. But the team of researchers did not find the parasite in any water sample after it had been treated and prepared for tap water.
If you’re going to clear your nasal passage, he suggests boiling the water first to kill any bugs and bacteria and letting it cool before using it soon after.
While I was working on a public health project in British water treatment plants London And Nottingham between 2002 and 2008, Professor Khan found the dormant form of brain-eating amoeba.
But the researchers did not find the parasite in any water sample after it had undergone the treatment process that turned it into tap water.
However, Professor Khan is concerned that this could change in the future as summers become warmer.
“If there is a problem with the sewage system, the pipes are too old or the water travels a long distance, the chlorine in the water can evaporate by the time it reaches the house,” he said reflecting on cases of the parasite in Malaysia and Pakistan. .
Professor Khan believes more testing for Naegleria should be carried out on British water over several seasons as it is not currently tested for routinely.
If an infection does occur, the symptoms of the brain-eating bug are difficult to recognize.
Scientists have known for years that people who use neti pots can become infected with a brain-eating amoeba if used incorrectly
One of the first signs is a simple headache, which can of course be dismissed as a minor ailment by both the public and doctors.
As it progresses, it can cause a stiff neck. This combined with headaches can easily be confused with bacterial meningitis, with the diagnostic delay further lowering a patient’s chances, warns Professor Khan.
He said: ‘People die within 24 to 72 hours by the time they show up at hospital with symptoms.
“If you get it, 99 percent of the time you will die because there is no effective treatment.”
He explained that post-mortem examinations following cases of infection in Malaysia and Pakistan had revealed that patients had been misdiagnosed with bacterial meningitis when they actually had Naegleria.
Professor Khan believes this is happening because there is not enough training in infections of the parasite. Diagnosing an infection requires a lumbar puncture, a complex procedure in which cerebrospinal fluid is taken from a patient’s spinal column.
He said: ‘Although the amoeba is very rare, there needs to be more awareness among doctors.’