Study warns of growing global threat of brain-eating amoebae in water

The free-living amoebae, also known as brain-eating amoebae, are becoming a growing global public health threat, warned a new study.

Climate change, ageing water infrastructure, and gaps in monitoring and detection are making the dangerous group of pathogens lurk freely in water and the environment, warned the team of environmental and public health scientists, in the article published in the journal Biocontaminant.

“What makes these organisms particularly dangerous is their ability to survive conditions that kill many other microbes,” said corresponding author Longfei Shu of Sun Yat sen University, China.

“They can tolerate high temperatures, strong disinfectants like chlorine, and even live inside water distribution systems that people assume are safe,” Shu added.

Amoebae are single-celled organisms commonly found in soil and water. While most are harmless, some species can cause devastating infections. Among the most notorious is Naegleria fowleri, often referred to as the brain-eating amoeba, which can trigger a rare but almost always fatal brain infection after contaminated water enters the nose during activities such as swimming. Naegleria fowleri has also contributed to several deaths in Kerala in the recent years.

The authors also emphasised that amoebae act as hidden carriers for other harmful microbes. By sheltering bacteria and viruses inside their cells, amoebae can protect these pathogens from disinfection and help them persist and spread in drinking water systems.