Sebastian Deleon, a 22-year-old college student from Weston, Florida, contracted the amoeba when he was 16. He was “shot in a cannonball” into a lake at an amusement park several times, and it is likely that he was infected. At first, the teenager developed a headache, followed by photosensitivity. It took several years for him to recover fully, but the fact that he survived is “a miracle”.
- Amoeba Naegleria fowleri is a unicellular carcinoma that can cause severe negleriosis, leading to primary encephalitis and meningitis, and 97% of these are cases to death
- Amoeba infection most often occurs while bathing in polluted, warm, stagnant water. Amoeba enters the human brain through the nose
- Of 154 amoeba cases reported in recent years in the US, only Sebastian Deleon and three other survivors
- It took a man several years to return to full form
- More important information can be found on the TvoiLokony home page
It was not immediately clear what was wrong with the teenager. However, when his head ached and he had to use sunglasses on a cloudy day, he could not move or get up, his parents took him to the hospital. Doctors diagnosed primary meningitis, gave him seven antibiotics and put him into a pharmacological coma. A week later, Sebastian Deleon went to rehabilitation to regain his strength. He was unable to climb stairs and write. Amoeba had damaged his brain. He was significantly underweight. He returned to full health for several years.
«It was difficult, I had to learn to walk again, write and do all the basics» — recalled Deleon during his speech at the conference of the Jordan Smelski Foundation. The Foundation works to disseminate knowledge about the dangers of the protozoan and commemorates Jordan Smelski, who died in 2014 at the age of 11 as a result of amoeba meningitis.
Despite the difficult and long treatment process, Deleon’s case is, according to doctors, an example of a miracle. The man is one in four out of 154 cases recorded in recent years in the USA, which have survived. 97 percent the sick dies.
Amoeba more dangerous due to global warming
Amoeba is present in small concentrations in most watercourses, but multiplies in stagnant and warm waters, and is especially threatening in summer. It gets into the human body with water through the nose. There are no known cases of its transmission from one person to another.
Dr. Anjan Debnath, an expert on parasitic diseases at the University of California, San Diego, said the disease is “fast” and “literally eats up brain tissue” — quotes dailymail.co.uk. There are concerns that the amoeba is making its way north due to global warming. So far, it has been more common in the southern United States.
The last American hospitalized for an amoeba infection is 13-year-old Caleb Ziegelbauer from Port Charlotte, Florida. The teenager most likely contracted the infection during a family trip, after swimming in a river near his home.