A brain-eating amoeba is on its way to Britain due to climate change, a leading expert warns.
Naegleria fowleri, which can lurk in tap water as well as rivers, ponds and lakes, kills up to 99 percent of people who become infected.
The microscopic parasite enters through the nose and climbs up the nasal passage to invade the brain, which it then chews and destroys.
Initial symptoms may include headache, fever and vomiting, before progressing to neck stiffness, confusion and loss of balance.
Microbiologist Professor Naveed Khan, who has decades of experience researching Naegleria and other amoebas, told MailOnline that the result in the vast majority of infections is “you die”.
The brain-eating parasite (pictured) can be found worldwide in freshwater, but is only deadly to humans when it lives in warmer waters, between 25 and 30 degrees.
Although it is more common in warmer climates, Professor Khan, who currently works in a laboratory in Edinburgh, has previously seen Naegleria at UK water treatment sites in London and Nottingham. However, that was before the water was treated.
But he warned of the risk posed by the parasite, which cannot be spread by drinking contaminated water. could be increasing along with climate change.
Similar claims have also been made in the United States, and cases of Naegleria have spread northward in recent decades.
“Now that London is getting very warm weather, I think this is a big concern here as well,” Professor Khan said.
Naegleria can be found around the world in fresh water and soil, including the UK.
In many recorded infections, people contracted the parasite while swimming in open fresh water, such as lakes and rivers in warm climates.
Professor Khan says it is only fatal to humans when the water temperature exceeds 30 degrees.
The heat-loving parasite can survive in cold and even icy waters, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Warmer temperatures provide a more favorable environment for the amoeba to transform into an “infectious form,” where it develops a biological “hook” to attach itself to the cells lining the nose, aiding it in its journey to invade the brain.
Once it reaches the brain, it destroys tissue and causes swelling, quickly leading to death in just a week.
Symptoms appear quickly and can be confused with meningitis, meaning patients risk not contracting the infection until it is too late for treatment.
People treated with a combination of medications, including antibiotics and steroids, have survived, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Naegleria cases are extremely rare in the developed world, thanks to properly chlorinated and treated water. Only about three people in the US are reported to get sick each year.
One person in Florida died after being infected last March.
Authorities believe they contracted it by rinsing their sinuses with tap water that contained the amoeba, since drinking that water poses no danger.
These types of deaths are even rarer in the UK. In 1978, a young woman died after contracting the killer parasite while swimming in Bath’s Roman Baths. The facility, which was built around 70 AD on the site of geothermal springs, has not been used for bathing since, but is still open as a museum.
However, Professor Khan said that as summers in the UK become warmer, the risk posed by the parasite increases.
In many cases of recorded infections, people are thought to have become infected while swimming in open fresh water, such as lakes and rivers, in warm climates.
This infection can be avoided by using nose plugs when swimming in nature.
But you don’t necessarily need to worry about contracting the brain-eating amoeba in properly maintained pools.
This is because chlorine is enough to kill the parasite, Professor Khan said.
However, Naegleria poses a risk to people who use tap water to rinse their sinuses, if the water is not clean. This is not a problem in the UK.
People often use a device like a neti pot to pass water through the sinuses and clear congestion.
However, they are urged to use specifically sterilized water to avoid the potential risk of infection from tap water.
Professor Khan, who has taught microbiology at universities around the world, said the devices can be a “breeding ground” for the amoeba, especially if people leave stagnant water in them for long periods.
“If this water is not clean, it can cause serious risks,” he said.
“If water is left in the Neti pot for too long, the chlorine that the water has been exchanged with can evaporate.”
Professor Khan found the brain-eating insect in its dormant form in the UK. But the team of researchers did not find the parasite in any water sample after it had been treated to be tap water.
If you are going to clean your nasal passages, he suggests boiling the water first to kill bugs and bacteria and letting it cool before using it quickly afterwards.
While working on a public health project in UK water treatment sites in London and In Nottingham between 2002 and 2008, Professor Khan found the dormant form of a brain-eating amoeba.
But the researchers did not find the parasite in any water sample after it had been subjected to the treatment process that turns it into tap water.
However, Professor Khan is concerned that this could change in the future as summers become warmer.
“If there is a plumbing problem, the pipes are too old or the water travels a long distance, the chlorine in the water can evaporate when it reaches the house,” he said, reflecting on the cases of the parasite in Malaysia and Pakistan. .
Professor Khan believes more testing for Naegleria should be carried out in UK water over several seasons because testing is not currently carried out routinely.
If an infection occurs, brain-eating insect symptoms are difficult to detect.
For years, scientists have known that people who use neti pots can become infected with a brain-eating amoeba if they are used incorrectly.
One of the first signs is a simple headache, which both the public and doctors may naturally dismiss as a minor ailment.
As it progresses it can cause stiffness in the neck. This, coupled with headache, can easily be confused with bacterial meningitis, and delay in diagnosis further reduces the patient’s chances, warns Professor Khan.
He said: ‘People die between 24 and 72 hours after they arrive at hospital with symptoms.
“If you get it, 99 percent of the time you will die because there is no effective treatment.”
He explained that post-mortem examinations following cases of infection in Malaysia and Pakistan had revealed that patients had been wrongly diagnosed with bacterial meningitis when they actually had Naegleria.
Professor Khan believes this happens because there is not enough training in parasite infections and diagnosing an infection requires a lumbar puncture, a complex procedure that involves removing cerebrospinal fluid from the patient’s spine.
He said: “Although the amoeba is very rare, doctors need to be more aware.”