Naegleria
fowleri lifecycle stages (Image from Wikipedia.org - think IN pictures
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N.nizah – Maut
Otak Amoeba ditemui di Amerika Syarikat pada bekalan air minum untuk kali pertama. Amoeba
otak berbahaya yang telah membunuh 2 kanak-kanak tahun ini telah ditemui dalam
bekalan air minum, yang pertama di Amerika Syarikat, kata pihak berkuasa hari
ini.
Haba
heat-loving Naegleria fowleri telah ditemui dalam sistem bekalan air St Bernard
Parish, tenggara New Orleans, mengikut ujian oleh Pusat Kawalan dan Pencegahan
Penyakit (CDC).
N.
fowleri parasit membunuh seorang budak 4 tahun di Mississippi dan seorang budak
Miami-kawasan 12 tahun dalam kejadian berasingan awal tahun ini. Seorang gadis
Arkansas 12-tahun, Kali Hardig, terselamat jangkitan selepas menjalani rawatan
eksperimen.
“Kami
tidak pernah melihat Naegleria menjajah bekalan air dirawat sebelum ini,” kata
Dr Michael Beach, ketua keselamatan air di CDC, memberitahu NBC News. “Dari
perspektif Amerika Syarikat ini adalah keadaan yang unik.”
N.
fowleri tidak berbahaya kepada manusia - walaupun minum atau bermandikan -
kecuali diakses melalui hidung, di mana ia boleh melekat pada saraf yang
membawa isyarat pencium ke otak. Amoeba kemudian mengeluarkannya semula,
menyebabkan bengkak otak dan kematian hampir pasti.
N.
fowleri didapati dalam kepanasan, tasik air tawar, kawasan renang dan air
panas, antara tempat-tempat lain. Satu sistem air seperti St Bernard, yang
berasal dari Sungai Mississippi, biasanya boleh menghalang Amoeba dengan
pembasmian rutin, biasanya pengklorinan.
“Kunci
kepada ini adalah memahami bahawa amoeba ini adalah jenis haba bug yang baik penyayang,”
kata Beach. “Jika suhu air mula naik, anda benar-benar perlu berhati-hati
tentang mengekalkan penyahjangkitan. Semakin jauh anda pergi dari tumbuhan,
semakin besar kemungkinan anda adalah untuk tahap disinfektan untuk mendapatkannya
rendah.”
N.
fowleri hanya dilaporkan dalam kira-kira 130 orang di Amerika Syarikat sejak
tahun 1962. Terselamat adalah amat jarang berlaku; Hardig hanya orang yang ke-3
diketahui mempunyai jangkitan terselamat.
Jabatan
kesihatan Louisiana berkata St Bernard Parish sistem sedang merah dan menyuci
diri, satu proses sepanjang minggu menurut pegawai-pegawai.
“Mereka
terkejut air, jadi kenalah bercakap,” kata jurucakap jabatan Ken Pastorick. “Apa
yang menyebabkan masalah di sini ialah pengklorinan yang rendah.”
Lethal
brain amoeba found in US drinking water
supply for first time . . .
A
deadly brain amoeba that has killed two children this year has been found in a
drinking water supply, a first in the US, authorities said Monday.
The
heat-loving Naegleria fowleri has been found in the water supply system of St.
Bernard Parish, southeast of New Orleans, according to tests by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The
N. fowleri parasite killed a 4-year-old boy in Mississippi and a 12-year-old
Miami-area boy in separate incidents earlier this year. A 12-year-old Arkansas
girl, Kali Hardig, survived an infection after undergoing an experimental
treatment.
“We
have never seen Naegleria colonizing a treated water supply before,” Dr.
Michael Beach, head of water safety at the CDC, told NBC News. “From a US
perspective this is a unique situation.”
N.
fowleri isn’t harmful to a human -- even if drank or bathed in -- unless
accessed through the nose, where it can attach to nerves that carry olfactory
signals to the brain. The amoeba then reproduces, causing brain swelling and
almost sure death.
N.
fowleri is found in warm, freshwater lakes, swimming areas and hot springs,
among other spots. A water system like St. Bernard’s, which comes from the
Mississippi River, can usually deter the amoeba with routine disinfection,
usually chlorination.
“The
key to this is understanding that this amoeba is kind of a heat-loving bug,”
Beach said. “If water temperatures start going up, you really need to be
extremely careful about maintaining the disinfectant. The farther you go from a
plant, the more likely you are for the disinfectant levels to get low.”
N.
fowleri has only been reported in about 130 people in the US since 1962.
Surviving is extremely rare; Hardig is only the third person known to have
survived infection.
The
Louisiana health department said the St. Bernard Parish system is being flushed
and decontaminated, a weeks-long process according to officials.
“They
have shocked the water, so to speak,” department spokesman Ken Pastorick said.
“What has caused the problem here is low chlorination.”
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