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What people say makes us excited::
http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/Z13_00binfect0127.lasso
By FIONA ISAACSON
Herald-Tribune staff
A young Grande Prairie Regional College student who suddenly passed away last fall died of a heart attack, caused by an infection he likely contracted while living in Nigeria four years before, his autopsy has revealed.
Andrei Obasi, an 18-year-old music student and soccer player, was found dead in his home on Sept. 30, 2004.
Dr. Bernard Bannach, assistant chief medical examiner for the province, said Wednesday that Obasi died from disseminated schistosoma mansoni infection - a parasite that is only present in Africa or southeast Asia.
He said the parasite needs to spend part of its life cycle in fresh water in a specific snail that is present only in those regions in the world.
"It is only after it has gone through part of its life cycle in the snail that it is then communicable back to humans," said Bannach.
When walking through fresh water, where the snails are present, "the parasite is released from the snails so that it actually burrows through the skin of your foot or your leg back into your blood stream," Bannach said.
Human to human transmission is not possible.
"There is no public health risk," he said.
The parasite can live for years, even decades in the body.
Bannach said it appears Obasi was infected for a long period of time, and he immigrated to Canada from Nigeria about four years ago. The infection eventually affected Obasi's heart muscle, causing a heart attack.
It's treatable with specific anti-parasite medication but there can also be no signs and apparently Obasi did not have any symptoms, nor was he in any pain, Bannach said.
At a memorial at GPRC in October, mourners packed the room and shared their stories and memories of Obasi. There was a constant reminder that Obasi always smiled and wanted everyone else to smile too.
Shortly after his death, Obasi's best friend Carl Edozien showed the Herald-Tribune a picture of the smiling music student and remembered the good times they had together.
"Whoever's going to read (the newspaper) just let them know that he was the greatest person in the world," Edozien said at the time. "He was my best friend."
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