KARACHI: The health authorities on Wednesday confirmed the death of a teenage boy caused by Naegleria fowleri, commonly known as ‘brain-eating’ amoeba, at a private hospital.

With the latest addition, this year’s death toll from the deadly infection has reached five in Sindh so far.

Officials said the 16-year-old boy, residing in Manzoor Colony, who died last week in a private hospital had been earlier taken as a victim of meningitis. He later tested positive for Naegleria fowleri and the hospital authorities conveyed the result to the provincial health department, they added.

Take a look: Alarm as ‘brain-eating amoeba’ kills two more in Karachi

“The patient was Sufiyan, a 16-year-old boy from Manzoor Colony, who is now confirmed to be the fifth victim of Naegleria in Sindh,” said Karachi health director Dr Zafar Ejaz while speaking to Dawn.

“Our teams are investigating the case to ascertain the cause as to how he was inflicted by the germ that attacks human brain through nasal cavity,” he said.

Three of the previous four victims from Sindh were residents of Karachi, while the only one from other parts of the province was a 40-year-old Thatta resident who died last week. Before his death, Naegleria foweleri claimed the life of a teenage girl from Gulistan-i-Jauhar, a middle-aged woman from Clifton and a 37-year-old Defence resident.

The lethal amoeba survives on the bacteria in warm waters and enters into the human brain through nasal cavity and eats up its tissues.

Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis is defined in medical literature as a rare but typically fatal infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, an amoeba found in rivers, lakes, springs, drinking water networks and poorly chlorinated swimming pools.

The illness attacks a healthy person, three to seven days after his exposure to contaminated water with symptoms of headache and slight fever, in some cases associated with sore throat and rhinitis (commonly called stuffy nose).

Naegleria fowleri killed 14 people last year while 15 people died from it in the previous two years.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2015

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