Article content
People around the world are afraid. The report from Lake Jackson in the United States caused it — the water there probably contains a very dangerous virus ( protozoan) that, after consuming the water, eats the brain.
The combination of the local water with the dangerous protozoan has affected over 27 000 residents. The protozoan Naegleria fowleri is known for first infecting a person by entering the body through the nasal mucosa and then settling in the brain. It then behaves in such a way that it can cause the affected patient to develop fatal meningitis.
Authorities have recorded over 27 000 infected people
The symptoms of this infection are mostly high fever, loss of appetite, vomiting and severe headache.
Infected people die within a week
Protozoa are simple single-celled organisms. Most of them are too small to be seen with the naked eye, but are easily observable under a microscope. They most commonly reach sizes from 0.005 to 0.05 millimetres.
