Patient dies of brain eating amoeba at Karachi's Jinnah Hospital

KARACHI: The naegleria fowleri-‘brain-eating’ amoeba- has claimed life of a patient admitted at Karachi’s Jinnah Hospital, ARY News reported on Saturday.

Dr. Seemi Jamali in a statement said that Anas s/o Aslam, a patient of brain-eating amoeba naegleria fowleri, who was admitted at the hospital has died.

He was a resident of Orangi Town in Karachi, the doctor further said.

The health officials earlier said that the single-cell micro-organism had claimed the lives of seven people in Sindh province.

As it was feared with the advent of the sizzling summer, naegleria fowleri has begun claiming human lives and the situation demands greater measures on part of the relevant authorities as the germ finds little resistance because of poor chlorination in most parts of the city.

Chlorination is the key method to kill the germ and keep the life-taking disease at bay. Another way is to use boiled water while cleaning nose as the germ enters through the nasal cavity of its victim and attacks the brain.

Provincial Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho in a statement in Sindh Assembly in January this year said that seven people died of Naegleria Fowleri infection (NFI) across the province.

She said it was the basic responsibility of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board to ensure hygienic drinking water. “Naegleria has no cure so far and it can only be prevented through chlorination of water and other measures for safe water supply,” the minister added.