First death of 2017 from Naegleria in Karachi

KARACHI: ‘Brain-eating amoeba’ Naegleria fowleri claimed its first victim of 2017 in Karachi on Friday, health officials said.

According to the Sindh Department of Health, the victim was identified as 23-year-old Aslam who was a resident of Tando Allah Yar. He succumbed to the lethal amoeba while admitted at a private hospital in the city.

Naegleria fowleri, which is found in freshwater, claimed five lives during 2016, Health Department officials said.

Doctors and health experts say Naegleria usually enters the brain and attacks the nervous system when infected water is ingested through the nasal cavity while bathing, swimming or performing ablution.

The deadly amoeba survives on bacteria in warm waters and can only be decimated through proper chlorination or boiling of water.