Brain-Eating Amoeba Strikes in Summer causing Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis

Swimming in the pool having warm water may be dangerous, as it provides the favourable medium for the growth of brain-eating amoeba. There are reports of death last year after swimming in lakes or pools infested with a brain-eating amoeba.

The bad blobs -- known as Naegleria fowleri or N. fowleri -- thrive in warm, fresh water all over the world. But the key word here is warm. The amoeba loves heat. In the U.S., it inhabits the relatively hot waters of lakes, hot springs, and poorly maintained pools in Southern or Southwestern states.

How Brain-Eating Amoebas Attack

That food source is the human brain. It actually is using the brain for food.

After the amoeba enters the nose, it finds its way to the olfactory nerve. N. fowleri appears to be attracted to nerve cells, so it follows the nerve into the brain. That's when bad things happen. The amoeba has mouth-shaped structures on its surface called food cups. It's perfectly capable of chewing up brain and blood cells with these food cups, but the blob finds it more efficient to secrete enzymes and proteins that dissolve brain cells so it can suck up the debris with its food cup.

Victims usually die seven to 10 days after infection, although symptoms may not appear for up to 14 days.
Initial symptoms include headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, and stiff neck. Later symptoms include confusion, inability to pay attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance, seizures, and hallucinations. Death follows the first symptoms by three to seven days. The disease is technically called Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM.