Naegleria Fowleri Parasites are living organisms that survive by living and feeding off another organism. There are millions of different kinds of parasites, but, this paper will discuss the biology and life-cycle of the parasitic organism, Naegleria Fowleri. It will also go into the dangerous health effects on the human body caused by an infection of the parasite. What is Naegleria Fowleri? Naegleria Fowleri, more commonly known as the “brain-eating amoeba,” are “microscopic, single-celled organisms called protozoa” (Viegas 5). Not all protozoa are parasitic in nature, and this is especially true of the Naegleria genus. There are only a few species of Naegleria that are parasitic, and of those species, only N. fowleri is known to infect
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fowleri “is normally a free-living microscopic amoeba,” meaning that it can survive on its own without a host. This species is found most commonly in warm fresh waters and soil, where they make a living consuming other microorganisms such as bacteria (Naegleria).
2. Life-Cycle The life-cycle of N. fowleri is composed of three stages, trophozoite, flagellate, and cyst. There is no particular order for these stages, rather, each stage is entered in response to the amoeba 's environmental conditions. The amoeba will enter the trophozoite stage when environmental conditions are favorable. N. fowleri is a thermophilic organism, meaning it tends to prefer warmer environments (see fig. 1).
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This creates massive inflammation and cell death leading to the disease, Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM). Further inflammation can be caused when the body’s immune system tries to attack the amoeba. Part of the body’s immune response is inflammation. This is when immune cells release certain proteins that stimulates the widening of blood vessels near the site of infection and attract more lymphocytes (Maier). Once the threat is eradicated, the inflammation is supposed to go away on its own. The amoeba, however, is extremely resilient and has developed a method of negating the body’s immune system. When immune cells try to attack the amoeba, it reverts to its cyst form, sheds the shell with the immune cells still on it, and escapes relatively unharmed (Hijackers). This prolongs the immune response and severely worsens
fowleri “is normally a free-living microscopic amoeba,” meaning that it can survive on its own without a host. This species is found most commonly in warm fresh waters and soil, where they make a living consuming other microorganisms such as bacteria (Naegleria).
2. Life-Cycle The life-cycle of N. fowleri is composed of three stages, trophozoite, flagellate, and cyst. There is no particular order for these stages, rather, each stage is entered in response to the amoeba 's environmental conditions. The amoeba will enter the trophozoite stage when environmental conditions are favorable. N. fowleri is a thermophilic organism, meaning it tends to prefer warmer environments (see fig. 1).
Figure …show more content…
This creates massive inflammation and cell death leading to the disease, Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM). Further inflammation can be caused when the body’s immune system tries to attack the amoeba. Part of the body’s immune response is inflammation. This is when immune cells release certain proteins that stimulates the widening of blood vessels near the site of infection and attract more lymphocytes (Maier). Once the threat is eradicated, the inflammation is supposed to go away on its own. The amoeba, however, is extremely resilient and has developed a method of negating the body’s immune system. When immune cells try to attack the amoeba, it reverts to its cyst form, sheds the shell with the immune cells still on it, and escapes relatively unharmed (Hijackers). This prolongs the immune response and severely worsens