미국서 뇌 파먹는 '식인 아메바' 감염 증가…치사율 95% After Daughter Dies From Brain-Killing Amoeba, California Mom Wants 'Amoeba..(VIDEO)
PHOTO: An undated image from the Centers for Disease Control shows an image made with a
microscope of a brain infected with Balamuthia mandrillaris.
Three genera of free-living amebas, Naegleria, Acanthamoeba, and B mandrillaris are known to
infect humans.
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미국에서 사람의 뇌를 파먹는 '식인 아메바'에 감염돼 사망하는 사례가 잇따르고 있다. 캘리포니아 주에 거주하는 시빌 마이스터 씨는 6일(현지시간) 페이스북에 식인 아메바에 감염돼 사망한 딸의 사연을 올리고 초기 증상을 자세하게 소개했다. 딸 코랄 리프 마이스터 피어 씨는 2013년 5월 애리조나 주 하바수 호수에서 자유아메바 일종인 '발라무시아 만드릴라스'(Balamuthia Mandrillaris)에 감염돼 5개월간 투병생활 끝에 숨졌다. 앞서 2007년에는 아론이라는 14세 소년이 하바수 호수에서 또 다른 아메바인 '파울러 자유아메바'(Naegleria Fowleri)에 감염돼 사망하는 등 최근 들어 식인 아메바에 감염된 사망자가 증가하고 있는 추세다. 지난해 8월에는 루이지애나 주 세인트존 뱁티스트 패리 시에서 수돗물에 파울러자 자유아메바가 소량 검출돼 한바탕 소동을 겪은 바 있다. 실제로 미국에서 지난 50년간 자유아메바에 감염된 128명 가운데 125명이 사망한 것으로 알려졌다. '뇌 먹는 아메바'로 불리는 이 단세포 생물은 강이나 호수에 번식하다가 코나 입을 통해 사람의 몸에 들어가 뇌나 척추로 침투한다. 이들 자유아메바는 뇌에 들어가 뇌세포를 잡아먹어 뇌수막염을 일으키고 눈에 침투해 각막염을 유발하기도 한다. 뇌로 이동해가는 동안 계속해서 세포조직을 먹어 치우면서 뇌 안에 정착한다. 감염 증상은 초기에는 목이 뻣뻣해지고 두통과 열병, 구토 등에 시달리다가 나중엔 뇌 손상으로 환각증세와 행동이상, 마비 증세를 보인다. 문제는 한번 감염되면 치료약이 없고 치사율이 95% 이상인 데다 잠복 기간이 수주 또는 수개월 걸린다는 점이다. 특히 이들 아메바는 주로 호수와 온천, 더러운 수영장 등에서 서식하며, 고온을 좋아해 기온이 높은 지역에서는 수상활동에 각별히 주의를 기울여야 한다. 미국 보건당국은 아직 식인 아메바의 감염 과정과 이유를 구체적으로 밝혀내지 못하고 있다. 마이스터 씨는 "식인 아메바 감염의 초기 증상으로 두통, 목경련, 메스꺼움, 구토, 피로, 미열, 발작, 체중 감소 등이 나타난다"면서 "이 같은 증상이 발견되면 반드시 병원에 가 진찰을 받아야 한다"고 권고했다. (로스앤젤레스=연합뉴스) 김종우 특파원 jongwoo@yna.co.kr |
By AVIANNE TAN A Temecula, California, mother is raising “amoeba awareness” after her newlywed daughter died last October from brain-killing amoeba called Balamuthia. Sybil Meister started what she’s named the “Team Koral Reef Amoeba Awareness” campaign on Facebook after losing her daughter Koral Reef Meister-Pier to amoebic meningoencephalitis, a brain infection, she told ABC News today. “My daughter was someone who had a contagious laugh, who was so generous and always cooked for everyone,” Meister said. “And now she’s gone. It’s been less than six months since my daughter died, and her family, friends and I want to raise awareness about these deadly amoebas.” But despite what they see as good intentions, doctors said they’re worried about unnecessary public paranoia, considering that amoebic brain infections are very rare. Meister said her daughter Koral began experiencing symptoms in the fall of 2013. “She started complaining about headaches, stiff neck nausea, blurry vision, vomiting sensitivity to heat and light,” Meister said. “Koral also started having personality changes and mood swings.” Koral, who was known to be a happy, energetic and healthy gal became lethargic, emotional and unwilling to work, Meister added. Despite her worsening state, Koral tried to hide what was wrong because she was scared of going to the doctors, her mother said. “By June 2014, we had to take her to the ER,” Meister said. “Her headaches and sensitivity to light were so bad that her husband had to constantly keep her in a dark room, and she started having twitching on the left-side of her body.”  PHOTO: KKoral Reef Meister-Pier of Temecula, Calif. is pictured in an undated image from the Team Koral Reef Facebook Page. Doctors thought Koral was just suffering from birth control withdrawal since she had just got off her pills recently, and she was discharged, Meister said. Koral kept suffering from the same symptoms, but she kept cancelling appointments her mom made for her because she didn’t want anyone to worry and thought she could fix it herself, Meister said. “But on September 29, we had to take her back to the ER, and she never came out,” Meister said. “Her vision got so bad she would almost be completely blind at times, and her twitching just got worse.” Doctors discovered a huge mass in her brain, inflammation and dead tissue, which they eventually figured out was being caused by Balamuthia ameba, Dr. Navaz Karanjia, who treated Koral, told ABC News today. Karanjia directs neurocritical care and the neuro-intensive-care-unit at University of California San Diego’s Health System. Based on Koral’s symptoms and history, Karanjia said she believed Koral contracted the amoeba about a year ago in 2013. Meister believes Koral contracted the Balamuthia ameba when they vacationed as a family at Lake Havasu in Arizona. However, Karanjia believes this isn’t the case. “I think it’s dangerous to put a name and place to blame for an infection when you aren’t sure,” Karanjia said. “It’s easy to sensationalize the story, but this particular amoeba has almost always been contracted through inhalation of dust. It’s possible she got it through water, but it’s highly unlikely.” Karanjia added that amoeba brain infections are rare, though they can be highly fatal. And because Balamuthia ameba are primarily found in soil and dust, doctors and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention do not currently believe there’s much that can be done in terms of prevention, Karanjia said. “There is about a 13 percent chance of survival,” Karanjia said. “However, there have only been 94 cases reported to the CDC [since 1974], and there were only six cases last year.” “We don’t want people to stress trying to avoid something so ubiquitous,” Karanjia said. “And these free-living amoebic infections are definitely not at the level of an epidemic This is a different variety of amoeba than Naegleria fowleri -- the one that Louisiana officials found in a local water supply last summer. Balamuthia causes more chronic symptoms while Naegleria fowleri tends to be acute and kills much quicker, doctors said. The best bet for treating Balamuthia ameba brain infections is early detection, Karanjia said, adding that you’re more likely to develop a brain infection from bacteria or viruses. “If you’re experiencing constant headaches, lethargy, nausea and these early general signs, it’s best to go to your doctor right away, so you can figure out what the cause of the problem is,” she said. Still, Koral’s mom said she hopes more people will take amoeba and their killing potential more seriously. “People think it’s just this cute little fish-like creature that can bite you,” she said. “But it’s not like that. It can kill you.” |
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