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Korean Tourist Dies From Brain Eating Parasite After Thailand Visit
A South Korean man who returned home from Thailand after four months has died from a ‘brain-eating amoeba parasite,’ according to South Korean health officials. The man in his 50s was South Korea’s first ever case of Naegleria Fowleri.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported the first case of Naegleria fowleri, also known as a “brain-eating amoeba,” in the country after the single-celled organism killed the South Korean traveler who returned home after spending four months in Thailand.
Naegleria fowleri, colloquially known as a “brain-eating amoeba,” is a species of the genus Naegleria, which belongs to the phylum Percolozoa and is technically not classified as a true amoeba, but rather as a shapeshifting amoeboflagellate excavate.
According to KDCA, the Korean man was hospitalized the next day in serious condition after returning to South Korea from Thailand, but he could not be saved.
The hospital doctor’s tests confirmed that the gene discovered in the man’s system was 99.6% identical to that found in patients with primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) in other countries.
PAM is an acute infection caused by the amoeba Naegleria fowleri, which lives in soil and fresh water all over the world and feeds on bacteria. It enters the human body via inhalation through the nose and travels to the brain.
Headache, fever, nausea or vomiting, stiff neck, seizures, and altered mental state are all symptoms of PAM, which can progress to coma and death. The disease has a very high fatality rate, and there is no specific cure. It is also difficult to diagnose because it is a rare condition.
Although the bacteria cannot be transmitted from person to person, South Korean authorities advised the public to avoid swimming in areas where the disease has been reported.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1,000 to 2,000 cases of Naegleria fowleri are reported worldwide each year.
Between 1962 and 2021, there were 154 confirmed infections with the brain-eating amoeba in the United States of America.
According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only four patients survived, putting PAM’s death rate at 97%.
