Why brain-eating amoeba infections are increasing in northern states

Rising temperatures create perfect environment for brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri Northern states in the United States, including Ohio, Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota, have seen infections caused by the bacteria rise, prompting public health officials to warn clinicians to prepare.

Historically, the brain-eating amoeba has been found in warm climates in southern states like Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, but climate change is warming northern states to become also ideal reception environments, according to published research. May 16 in the Ohio Journal of Public Health.

“An increased incidence of N. fowleri in northern climates is just one of many ways that climate change threatens human health and warrants re-education of healthcare providers,” the research authors write. vector-borne diseases…”

N. fowleri thrives in warm, fresh waters and infects humans via the nasal membrane, then travels to the brain to “digest” brain cells. According to CDC, the survival rate to infection is only 3%. It is progressing so rapidly that effective treatments to combat it have been difficult for experts to identify.

In northern regions where cases of infection are increasing, researchers recommend that public health professionals regularly monitor recreational areas that have warm fresh water for the presence of N. fowleri and inform the public, where appropriate, of the risks of these areas. Clinicians should also perform environmental screenings of patients with meningitis and if infection with the brain-eating amoeba is suspected, they should contact the CDC.