Knowledge nugget of the day: Brain-eating amoeba

2. Naegleria fowleri lives successful lukewarm caller water, specified arsenic lakes and rivers, swimming pools, splash pads, surf parks, oregon different recreational venues that are poorly maintained oregon minimally chlorinated.

3. The amoeba infects radical erstwhile it enters the assemblage done the nose, usually erstwhile radical are swimming. It past travels up to the brain, wherever it destroys the encephalon insubstantial and causes a superior amebic meningoencephalitis.

Naegleria fowleri grows champion astatine higher temperatures and tin past for abbreviated periods astatine higher temperatures. (Source: Getty Images)

4. Interestingly, radical cannot get infected with Naegleria fowleri from drinking h2o contaminated with the amoeba. Scientists haven’t recovered immoderate grounds of the spreading of Naegleria fowleri through h2o vapour oregon aerosol droplets.

5. The archetypal symptoms of PAM see headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting. Later on, the diligent whitethorn acquisition a stiff neck, confusion, seizures, hallucinations, and gaffe into a coma.

“Most radical with PAM dice wrong 1 to 18 days aft symptoms begin. It usually leads to coma and decease aft 5 days.” According to the US CDC

6. Scientists person not yet identified immoderate effectual treatments for the disease. Currently, doctors usage a operation of drugs, including amphotericin B, azithromycin, fluconazole, rifampin, miltefosine, and dexamethasone for treatment.

7. Preventive measures specified arsenic avoiding lukewarm freshwater bodies with inadequate chlorination, utilizing chemoreceptor clips during water-related activities, and utilizing sterile h2o for nasal cleansing rituals tin assistance trim the hazard of contracting Naegleria fowleri infection.

8. According to the CDC, with the rising planetary temperatures, the chances of getting Naegleria fowleri infection volition spell up arsenic the amoeba chiefly thrives successful lukewarm freshwater bodies. The organism champion grows successful precocious temperatures up to 46°C and sometimes tin past astatine adjacent higher temperatures.

9. Various caller studies person besides recovered that excess atmospheric c dioxide has led to an summation successful the somesthesia of lakes and rivers. According to the the CDC website, “These conditions supply a much favourable situation for the amoeba to grow. Heat waves, erstwhile aerial and h2o temperatures whitethorn beryllium higher than usual, whitethorn besides let the amoeba to thrive,”.

BEYOND THE NUGGET: National Fund for Rare Diseases and National Rare Diseases Committee 

10. The Delhi High Court has directed the Union Government to found the National Fund for Rare Diseases (NFRD) and allocate a sum of Rs 974 crore to the NFRD for the fiscal years 2024-25, and 2025-26.

11. The Court besides said that the National Rare Diseases Committee (NRDC) should proceed for 5 much years. A five-member Committee was constituted connected May 15, 2023, to efficiently instrumentality the National Rare Disease Policy-2021.

12. Laying down the mandate for the committee, the Court outlined that the committee shall proceed the recognition and designation of uncommon diseases, guarantee that procurement of drugs for the attraction of uncommon diseases is done astatine a tenable and affordable terms arsenic good arsenic negociate prices for bulk purchases, and show and beforehand the improvement of indigenous uncommon illness drugs successful India.

13. NCRD volition besides beryllium liable for periodic reviews of the Rare Diseases Policy and marque recommendations to update oregon refine the argumentation based connected emerging research, treatments, and challenges faced by patients and healthcare providers.

National Rare Disease Policy-2021

14. The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has launched the National Rare Disease Policy-2021 to little the incidence and prevalence of uncommon diseases based connected an integrated and broad preventive strategy.

15. Presently, 63 uncommon diseases are included nether the National Policy for Rare Diseases connected proposal of the Central Technical Committee for Rare Diseases (CTCRD).

(Sources: What is Naegleria fowleri, which led to a 5-year-old girl’s decease successful Kerala?, ‘Brain-eating amoeba’ kills South Korean man, Delhi HC directs Centre to acceptable up uncommon illness fund)

For your queries and suggestions constitute astatine roshni.yadav@indianexpress.com

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