Business · Ars Technica
Man dies covered in necrotic lesions after amoebas eat him alive
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Over the course of six months, black lesions and deep ulcers formed over the body of a 78-year-old man, puzzling doctors.
Key facts
- It’s a monoclonal antibody that inhibits certain immune signals, namely interleukin-4 and interleukin-13 cytokines, which play a role in overactive (T2) inflammatory responses
- Acanthamoeba and other amoeba species have been found in more than 50 percent of US tap water samples
- Over the course of six months, black lesions and deep ulcers formed over the body of a 78-year-old man, puzzling doctors
- The Yale doctors noted that the lesions began after he returned from Florida, where he spent the winters
Summary
It wasn’t until he was transferred to a Yale School of Medicine hospital for higher-level care that doctors finally identified the cause of his ghastly affliction: a common free-living amoeba that can be found almost anywhere, including tap water. The amoeba the doctors found was Acanthamoeba, which is known to cause such horrifying infections. Besides widespread infections, Acanthamoeba is known to cause localized ones, most notably eye infections—aka Acanthamoeba keratitis. Acanthamoeba and other amoeba species have been found in more than 50 percent of US tap water samples. Of all the known ways to get an Acanthamoeba infection, nasal rinsing was the most likely one in the man’s case. The man had nasal polyps and used sinus rinses to alleviate his symptoms.