The Korea Times reports that a man in his 50s died from the virus Naegleria fowleri, also known as the "brain-eating amoeba," after returning from Thailand. This is the first instance of the fatal illness in South Korea.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency was cited in a report in the News Outlet about a Korean national who passed away after traveling to Thailand. After staying there for a total of four months, on December 10 of last month, the man returned to Korea.
On the evening of his arrival, the patient started to exhibit meningitis symptoms, including headaches, fever, vomiting, slurred speech, and stiffness of the neck; the next day, he was taken to an emergency room.
He was admitted to the hospital the next day, and on December 21 he passed suddenly.
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According to the Korean health service, genetic testing on three distinct illnesses that are the source of Naegleria fowleri was used to identify the reason of his death. Testing revealed that a gene found in the man's body matched one found in a meningitis patient who had been reported overseas 99.6% of the time.
In South Korea, this is the first instance of the disease becoming infected. The KDCA has noted that swimming in polluted water and nasal rinsing with contaminated water are the two main causes of illness, despite the fact that it has not yet determined the exact mode of transmission.
Naegleria fowleri is a single-celled organism that lives in soil and warm fresh water, such as lakes, rivers, and hot springs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the national public health organization of the United States.
Because it can infect the brain when amoebic water enters the nose, it is frequently referred to as the "brain-eating amoeba." Only three Americans each year infect themselves, yet these illnesses are typically fatal.
The first study describing this infection was released in Australia in 1965. Three fatal illnesses from 1965 and one from 1961 were found in the study.