KARACHI: The Sindh health ministry on Tuesday confirmed that a young teacher had died of Naegleria fowleri, commonly known as ‘brain-eating’ amoeba, at a hospital in the city.

He was the second victim of the disease this week and third overall this year in the province. Two of the three victims in the province died in Karachi.

Ali Amjad, 29, was admitted with a history of high-grade fever on June 25 and died three days later of Naegleria fowleri, a senior official in the health ministry said.

The victim was a teacher at a private school and lived in KDA Scheme I, officials said. They said the victim had offered prayers in a nearby lawn during the final days of Ramazan, suspecting the lethal amoeba might have attacked him during ablution.

He was admitted to a private hospital on June 25 with a high-grade fever and drowsiness where he was diagnosed as another case of Naegleria. He died three days later.

Senior officials said the victim’s house and the lawn were being inspected to know which of those places had water with less or no chlorine.

A 55-year-old resident of Gulberg Town was the second victim of the disease confirmed last week. The first death was reported at a Karachi hospital in April. The victim originally hailed from Tando Allahyar district.

Experts said the germ went into hibernation in the environment with a temperature of 36 degrees Celsius or below. However, as the mercury rose, it brought the lethal bacteria to life.

Last year, an official report shockingly revealed that most neighbourhoods of the city were being supplied with water that was not chlorinated at all. The situation in other districts of Sindh was even worse.

Chlorination is the key method of killing the germ and to keep the deadly disease at bay. Another way is to use boiled water while cleansing the nose as the germ enters through the nasal cavity of its victim and attacks the brain.

Officials and experts warned that the ongoing monsoon would help germs get breeding grounds in the shape of stagnant rainwater and water stored in tyres at shops.

A committee, called the focal group for Naegleria, during its initial activities last year collected samples of water and the results showed that more than half of the city was supplied with water chlorinated much less than the needed level. Even the teams found no chlorination at all at more than 90 per cent of the pumping stations of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, risking the lives of millions in the metropolis.

Officials earlier said the germ could potentially approach the victim’s brain through the nasal cavity during ablution at home or in mosques where water supplies were not safely chlorinated or boiled.

The germ killed three people last year and 43 in the last four years.

The dangerous amoeba, which survives on the bacteria in warm waters and enters the human brain through the nasal cavity and eats up its tissues, could only be decimated through proper chlorination or boiling of water.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2017