The Sindh Health Department confirmed on Saturday the death of a 17-year-old patient caused by Naegleria Fowleri in Karachi, which raised the death toll of 2025 from the brain-eating Amoeba to four.
The 17-year-old patient, a resident of North Karachi, tested positively on 27 June and died today, said a provincial health department spokesperson.
Pakistan reported his first fatality of Naegleria in March as a 36-year-old woman from Gulshan-e-iqbal collapsed at the brain-eating Amoeba.
Research has shown that the deceased had not participated in water -related recreational activities. Her only known exposure to water was to perform Asingen at home.
It is relevant to mention here that Pakistan reported five dead from Naegleria in 2024, with four cases in Karachi and one in Hyderabad.
What is Naegleria and what can we do?
Doctors and health experts say that Negleria usually enters the brain and attacks the nervous system when infected water is taken through the nasal cavity during bathing, swimming or performing wash.
The deadly Amoeba survives on bacteria in warm water and can only be decimated by the correct chloring or water boiling.
Health experts have repeated the importance of adequate chloring in water sources to prevent Naegleria Fowleri infections.
The Amoeba, who thrives in warm, untreated water, can enter the body through the nose and cause fatal cerebral infections.
Health experts advise people to have their underground and above -ground water tanks clean before the summer starts and use chlorine tablets to purify the water routinely.
