Vietnamese Child in Critical Condition with Rare Brain-Eating Amoeba Infection

On May 31, Children's Hospital 1 in Vietnam’s southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City reported a pediatric patient in critical condition due to a rare brain-eating amoeba infection, which has a fatality rate of over 95%, local media reported.

Associate Professor Dr. Phung Nguyen The Nguyen, head of the Infectious Diseases Intensive Care Unit at Children's Hospital 1, stated that the ten-month-old patient was admitted on the third day of the illness, exhibiting high fever, frequent vomiting, and lethargy. The child had been completely healthy prior to this. About eight hours after admission, the child began experiencing multiple generalized seizures and impaired consciousness, necessitating intubation.

Doctors performed a multiplex PCR test on the cerebrospinal fluid and identified a large quantity of the Naegleria fowleri parasite.

The child is receiving intensive treatment, including mechanical ventilation, external ventricular drainage to reduce intracranial pressure, broad-spectrum antibiotics, and medications recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Despite these efforts, the condition remains very severe.

(BNews)