Recently, news from Korea (other sources say the case was in Taiwan) about a local student who lost her sight after not removing her contact lenses for several months was stirred up in the media. According to doctors, the amoeba living in her eyes began to feed on the cornea, damaging the retina.
The authenticity of the information is unknown, but scientists will be able to list a sufficient number of modern infections that have chosen the human head as a habitat. For example, the freshwater nagleria fowleri (Naegleria fowleri), which enters the human brain through the nose while swimming. Read about the worst thing that can live in the human head on Naked Science.
Amoeba from the water park
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Most amoebas are not killers, which is encouraging because the infections they cause are difficult to treat. The most that amoeba can harm a person is, as a rule, an upset stomach. However, there are also not so harmless, although rare cases. If you take the same Negleria Fowler, this parasite damages the nervous system of its host, causing primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. Over the past 50 years, no more than 200 such cases have been reported worldwide. Basically, nigglerians climbed into the nose of a person when swimming in a hot season in a warm reservoir. But in 2012, two cases were recorded when amoeba got into the human body during a healing procedure - "Himalayan" rinsing the nose from a special ceramic pot Neti, which is used by yogis. The way to combat negleria was discovered only in 2013. The amoeba was treated with the drug miltefosine. In the same year in the United States, using miltefosine in combination with therapeutic hypothermia, doctors relieved a 12-year-old girl who contracted the amoeba in a water park from the amoeba.
The parasite is brought by flies
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A parasite that uses humans as an incubator causes onchocerciasis, or river blindness. The causative agent of the disease, the Onchocerca volvulus helminth, is found mainly in Africa, where it is carried by flies. Insects bite a person, at the same time transmitting a worm to him, which lays larvae inside the human body. They settle under the skin, causing severe itching. Dying larvae cause a "shake-up" of the immune system, which causes destruction of human tissue. Including his eyes. Simply put, the host is completely blind. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 17 million people worldwide suffer from helminths today. Existing drugs can alleviate suffering and even prevent blindness, but they will not completely eradicate the parasite.
Eater of people
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"Eater of people" - this is how the name of the larvae of the meatfly Cochliomyia hominivorax sounds in translation from Latin. As a rule, flies lay them in the organisms of large animals like cows and horses, but they also do not disdain the person who is nearby. The larvae, covered with a fleecy "thread", resemble a screw in appearance and quite briskly make their way in human or animal flesh. They also have small "fangs" to help them. One fly can lay up to 500 eggs of future larvae in the body at a time. Often choosing the head of their victim: nose and mouth. In 1883, the first known human death from Cochliomyia hominivorax was recorded.
Bacteria will make you cry blood
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Parasites are also one of the causes of the most severe form of meningitis. According to doctors, bacterial meningitis is the most fatal. The bacteria invade the meninges, resulting in edema and subsequent tissue pressure on the brain, since the bones of the skull cannot expand. The person becomes lethargic, loses focus and eventually falls into a coma. One of the notable symptoms of bacterial meningitis is a stiff neck. A person cannot touch his chest with his chin. Another sign is subcutaneous hemorrhage. With an advanced disease, a person literally begins to cry with blood, as blood vessels begin to burst in the eyes.
Brain fungus
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Many bacteria and fungi living on human skin even help it to some extent by maintaining a chemical balance. However, it happens that they get out of control. In the case of a rhinocerebral mucormycosis infection, a person can become infected by accidentally inhaling fungal spores. First of all, the threat exists for people with weakened immune systems, for example, those suffering from diabetes mellitus or having undergone organ transplants. The disease is accompanied by incredibly severe facial pain, skin ulcers and vision problems. Ultimately, the infected person's face turns black due to dying tissue. The fungus can spread in the blood and brain of a person. Fortunately, cases of infection by these fungus in humans are quite rare.