South Korea has reported its first case of the “brain-eating amoeba” Naegleria fowleri. According to The Korea Herald, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) confirmed that a Korean national in his 50s who died after returning from Thailand was infected with Naegleria fowleri, which destroys human brains.
This is the country’s first report of a brain After a four-month stay in Thailand, the man returned to Korea on December 10. The next day, he was admitted to the hospital. According to The Korean Herald, he died last Wednesday.-eating amoeba infection. In 1937, the disease was first reported in the United States.
To determine the cause of the man’s death, genetic tests were performed on three different types of pathogens that cause Naegleria fowleri. “The testing confirmed the gene in the man’s body was 99.6 percent similar to that found in a meningitis patient reported abroad,” according to the Korean disease control agency.
Naegleria fowleri is a type of amoeba that can be found in warm freshwater lakes, rivers, canals, and ponds all over the world. The amoeba enters the human body through inhalation and proceeds to the brain.
Headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting are common early symptoms. Later symptoms may include severe headaches, fever, vomiting, and neck stiffness. The incubation period for ‘brain-eating amoeba’ is usually two to three days but can last up to 15 days.