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Parasites That Can Control Human Brains

Balamuthia mandrillaris is a free-living amoeba that hangs around in the soil, just waiting for the chance to enter a body. According to the CDC, it can enter a host body if a skin wound or cut is in contact with the soil, or even if you breathe in some dust that contains the parasite. There's also a chance that the amoeba lives in water, because frankly, scientists know very little about it at this point. 

After Balamuthia is in, it can surf the bloodstream all the way to the brain, where it will cause a serious infection called granulomatous amebic encephalitis, or GAE for short. The good news about GAE is that it's incredibly rare. The bad news is that the poor person who loses in the brain amoeba lottery is in serious trouble. At first, the host might experience mild fever, nausea, head and neck pain, tiredness and light sensitivity. Eventually, the symptoms get more serious, and the host starts to lose their ability to speak in full sentences and walk properly. Seizures, weight loss, changes in behavior and even partial paralysis are also to be expected.

The death rate of a Balamuthia infection can be up to 89 percent, although chances of survival improve if it's diagnosed and treated early on. Unfortunately, the generic initial symptoms mean that the parasite is extremely hard to diagnose until the patient is so close to death that nothing can be done.

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Noelle Montes

Update: 2024-05-17