(fair use excerpt)
6 die from brain-eating amoeba after swimming
Rare organism that lives in lakes entered victims’ bodies through the nose
PHOENIX - It sounds like science fiction but it’s true: A killer amoeba living in lakes enters the body through the nose and attacks the brain where it feeds until you die.
Even though encounters with the microscopic bug are extraordinarily rare, it’s killed six boys and young men this year. The spike in cases has health officials concerned, and they are predicting more cases in the future.
“This is definitely something we need to track,” said Michael Beach, a specialist in recreational waterborne illnesses for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
“This is a heat-loving amoeba. As water temperatures go up, it does better,” Beach said. “In future decades, as temperatures rise, we’d expect to see more cases.”
According to the CDC, the amoeba called Naegleria fowleri (nuh-GLEER-ee-uh FOWL’-erh-eye) killed 23 people in the United States, from 1995 to 2004. This year health officials noticed a spike with six cases — three in Florida, two in Texas and one in Arizona. The CDC knows of only several hundred cases worldwide since its discovery in Australia in the 1960s.
In Arizona, David Evans said nobody knew his son, Aaron, was infected with the amoeba until after the 14-year-old died on Sept. 17. At first, the teen seemed to be suffering from nothing more than a headache.
“We didn’t know,” Evans said. “And here I am: I come home and I’m burying him.”
"In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem - government IS the problem." - Ronald Reagan
Futurecaptain From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 3, posted (5 years 7 months 4 weeks 15 hours ago) and read 1872 times:
I have a simple solution....
Don't go swimming in the lakes!!!
Problem solved.
Get a pool in the backyard. Get a beer, drink and swim with the comfort of your home a few steps away. And of course, no brain eating organisms in the filtered pool water.
But how many people get killed by freak infections/accidents/illnesses in pools every year?
I got a wickid infection last year from a hot tub that hit me pretty hard. Hot tub foliculitus... pretty gross when you think about it. Bacterial infection of your hair foliciles due to people being "unclean" in the hot tub. Yuck. No more public hot tubs for me...
MaidensGator From United States of America, joined Jan 2007, 945 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (5 years 7 months 4 weeks 11 hours ago) and read 1789 times:
Get a pool in the backyard. Get a beer, drink and swim with the comfort of your home a few steps away. And of course, no brain eating organisms in the filtered pool water.
Kiwiandrew From New Zealand, joined Jun 2005, 8435 posts, RR: 14 Reply 9, posted (5 years 7 months 4 weeks 5 hours ago) and read 1693 times:
this has happened from time to time in New Zealand - a lot of the thermal streams there contain an amoeba which can multiply inside the brain and kill you , however , I have to say that it is a long time since I have heard of anyone dying of it - certain places in New Zealand do have signs warning you not to dive , or immerse your head for this very reason , however when you contrast the death toll from accidental drowning every year with the death toll from amoebic meningitis it is clear which is ( by far ) the greater risk
Moderation in all things ... including moderation ;-)
MCOflyer From United States of America, joined Jun 2006, 8553 posts, RR: 14 Reply 10, posted (5 years 7 months 4 weeks 5 hours ago) and read 1693 times:
Well, I know now to wear ear and nose plugs while swimming. I wonder if my apartment landlord knows about this? Also, how does this disease get into lakes and pools?
NZ747 From New Zealand, joined Dec 2004, 958 posts, RR: 4 Reply 11, posted (5 years 7 months 4 weeks 5 hours ago) and read 1688 times:
Quoting Kiwiandrew (Reply 9): this has happened from time to time in New Zealand - a lot of the thermal streams there contain an amoeba which can multiply inside the brain and kill you , however , I have to say that it is a long time since I have heard of anyone dying of it - certain places in New Zealand do have signs warning you not to dive , or immerse your head for this very reason , however when you contrast the death toll from accidental drowning every year with the death toll from amoebic meningitis it is clear which is ( by far ) the greater risk
And here I was reading the article thinking i'm glad New Zealand is free from this...
But oh shit really? You've scared me away from going to Hanmer Springs ever again, yikes!
apparently between 1968 and 2000 there were 9 documented deaths from amoebic meningitis in New Zealand - on contrast there would have been at least several hundred accidental drownings during that time - I am not trying to pretend there is no risk , just trying to keep it in proportion
MCOflyer From United States of America, joined Jun 2006, 8553 posts, RR: 14 Reply 14, posted (5 years 7 months 4 weeks 4 hours ago) and read 1659 times:
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