India teenager wey survive one rare brain-eating amoeba

One campaign for social media wey bin create public awareness don help one Indian teenager to survive wetin dem call rare brain-eating amoeba.

Im become only di ninth pesin for di world to survive dis kind condition.

Tori be say Afnan Jasim wey be 14 years become affected for June afta im go swim for one local pond for di Southern state of Kerala.

Im doctor tok say di amoeba – wey im name na Naegleria fowleri dey likely say im enta im body from di water wey bin dey contaminated by di amoeba.

Di disease – primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) wey bin dey caused by di amoeba, get mortality rate of 97%.

According to di US Center for Disease control and prevention, between 1971 and 2023, only eight pipo don survive dis disease across four kontris – Australia, US, Mexico and Pakistan.

For all di cases, di symptoms dey recognized between nine hours and five days since di pipo get di infection – e dey crucial for dia recovery.

Sabi pipo say di timely treatment dey key to say pesin go get cure for di disease.

Symptoms of PAM include say pesin go get headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, disorientation, stiff neck, loss of balance, seizures and say pesin go dey hallucinate.

Di amoeba fit enta di human body through nasal passages wey im travel through di cribriform plate – wey dey under di skull wia im dey carry olfactory nerves to make di sense of smell to reach di brain.

“Di parasite dey release different chemicals wey dey destroy di brain,” Dr Abdul Rauf wey treat Afnan tok.

Plenti patients don die sake of wetin dem call intracranial pressure [wey fluids inside di skull and di ones on di brain tissue bin dey cause].

Im add say dem dey find di amoeba inside freshwater lakes especially di water wey dey warm.

Death toll for Indian landslides rise to ninety-three as dozens dey trapped

Wetin be landslides, wetin dey cause am?

Indian tycoon son wedding wey make headlines around di world

“Wen pipo jump or dive inside water. Na so di amoeba fit de enta di body. If di water dey contaminated, di amoeba go enta through your nose,” im tok.

Dis best tin to do na to avoid water wey dey contaminated, im tok.

Even inside swimming pool, pipo dey advised to keep dia mouth above di water level.

"To use chlorine to clean water resources dey very important,” Dr Rauf don add.

One research paper wey dem bin publish inside Karnataka state also bin report cases of oda small pikins for local communities and places like Nigeria wey get di infection from bathwater.

Since 1965, some 400 cases of PAM don dey recorded around di world while India gat less dan 30 cases so far.

“Kerala bin report case of PAM for 2018 and 2020 and dis year, about five oda cases don dey recorded so far,” di doctor tok.

Afnan begin to dey experience di symptoms five days afta im go swin for one local pond for di Kozhikode district. Im develop seizures and im begin to dey complain about severe headaches.

Despite say im parents carry am go see doctor, Afnan no improve.

But luckily, im papa MK Siddiqui, 46, connect di symptoms wit sometin im read for social media.

Oga Siddiqui wey be dairy farmer tok say im read about di effect of di nipah virus – one boy die recently for di state – on social media wen im see di information about di deadly brain-eating amoeba.

“I read sometin about seizures wey pipo dey discuss wey bin dey caused by infection. As soon as Afnan develop di seizures, I rush am go di local hospital,” Oga Siddiqui don tok.

Wen di seizure no stop, im carry im pikin to anoda hospital, but dis one no get neurologist.

Las las, dem go di Baby Memorial Hospital for Kozhikode wia Dr Rauf bin dey work as consultant paediatric intensivist.

Dr Rauf don credit oga Siddiqui wit informing doctors about Afnan im swim for di local pond and di symptoms – wey help dem to diagnose di disease in time.

Bifor dem carry Afnan to di hospital, three pipo bin don die for Kerala from di disease.

“Afta dat, we inform di goment as im be public health issue and dem launch awareness campaign,” Dr Rauf tok.

Na dis awareness campaign wey oga Siddiqui bin come across for social media.

Doctors do tests on Afnan wey help find di presence of di amoeba inside di boy im cerebrospinal fluid – wey dey inside di brain and spinal cord – wey dey inject combination of antimicrobial drugs inside im spine.

Di treatment also bin include administering Miltefosine – one drug wey dem import from Germany sake of im no dey available for India.

“Di goment bin import di medicine since dem report one similar case. Dem use dat drug for rare diseases for India but im dey cost plenty money,” Dr Rauf tok.

"On di first day, di patient no dey conscious due to di seizures. But within three days, Afnan im condition begin to dey improve,” im add.

A week later, doctors repeat di tests and find say amoeba no longer dey present for di boy im body.

But im go continue to take medicines for di next month afta which im plan to resume im studies.

Di experience don impact Afnan wey tok say now, im want do degree for nursing.

“Nurses dey work so hard for di patients, e tell di doctor,” Oga Siddiqu tok.