Lake Mead Brain-Eating Amoeba Expanding Range Because of Climate Change

According to an expert, climate change is causing the brain-eating amoeba found in Lake Mead to spread out.

After a Nevada boy who contracted the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri passed away last week, news of the organism gained attention. A scientist has recently claimed that the amoeba's range may be expanding, possibly as a result of climate change.

Death by Naegleria Fowleri

A boy under the age of 18 who might have been exposed to the amoeba while visiting the Lake Mead National Recreation Area died on Wednesday, according to the Southern Nevada Health District.

As per the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), N. fowleri is a single-celled organism that can cause primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). This leads to severe brain damage and has a mortality rate of more than 97%.

The amoeba can be discovered in warm freshwater areas like lakes, canals, rivers, ponds, and even shoddy heated swimming pools.

Jimmy Whitworth, a London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine professor, said in an interview with Newsweek that the silt found at the bottom of such bodies of water is probably where the amoeba can be found. Neither seawater nor pools that have been well-maintained contain it.

N. fowleri infections are extremely uncommon, despite millions of exposures occurring each year across the United States.

Whitworth added that, rarely, it can directly invade the brain through the nose and consume brain cells in humans, resulting in a very nasty infection.

Within one to twelve days after infection, PAM's first symptoms can appear. Confusion, a stiff neck, inattention to the environment, seizures, loss of balance, and hallucinations are among the symptoms. The disease advances quickly after the onset of symptoms.

Whitworth also said that symptoms like a headache, fever and altered mental state typically appear five days after exposure. Almost always, it ends fatally quickly.

Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis Cases

According to CDC figures, there were 154 cases of PAM reported in the United States between 1962 and 2021, and only four of these patients went on to recover.

The majority of infections have happened in southern states including Texas and Florida. However, evidence indicates that the amoeba's range is expanding northward, possibly as a result of climate change, the same culprit for some areas to have lower water levels and warmer freshwater bodies having higher temperatures.

Caused by Climate Change?

Whitworth said that only warm water, having a temperature above 86 degrees Fahrenheit, is conducive to Naegleria activity. The amoeba may be extending its range in response to climate change. It has been diagnosed for the first time in the United States, where three cases are diagnosed annually, and has recently been reported as far north as Minnesota and Nebraska.

It has been reported in Europe in Spain, Italy, and further north in connection with hot springs. Its prevalence is likely underdiagnosed and unrecognized elsewhere in the world, making it difficult to determine whether it is spreading.

In a previous interview, Jennifer Cope, a medical officer from the Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch-CDC, told Newsweek that the areas of the United States where infections occur are shifting.

The first Naegleria infection was discovered in Minnesota in 2010, 600 miles further north than any other case ever discovered. There is a statistically significant trend toward the north in the latitude of exposures among US cases associated with recreational water.

Cope added that It has been established that Naegleria can live and thrive in environments with warm freshwater, but researchers are unsure to what extent climate change plays a role.

Lake Mead Amoeba

The boy's death in Nevada represents the first case of an N. fowleri-related fatality that can be linked to a potential exposure during their visit to Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

The country's largest reservoir in terms of water storage, Lake Mead, has shrunk to record lows this year as a result of the ongoing megadrought plaguing large areas of the western US.

Naegleria fowleri poses a low risk to the general public, but the CDC advises people to use caution when swimming or entering warm freshwater, Newsweek reports.

Things to Remember to Avoid Naegleria Fowleri Risks

According to Healthline, infection can be prevented through the following:

Do not dive or jump into warm freshwater bodies, especially in the summer.
When in warm freshwater bodies of water, swimmers should hold their noses shut, keep their heads above water, or use nose clips.
It is not recommended to submerge one's head in hot springs or other untreated geothermal water.
Avoid stirring or digging in the sediment in warm, shallow freshwater.