Have you heard about the amoeba that eats away at your brain?

Question

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070928/ap_on_re_us/killer_amoeba

Answer 1

It's called naegleria fowleri. It was first discovered in the 1960's in Australia.

But because of global warming, this amoeba can live almost anywhere now. It can be found anywhere in the United States, even in poorly maintained swimming pools.

In the past decade, approximately 23 people have died from this amoeba.

But luckily, it is really rare for you to get your brain eaten by this amoeba.

Answer 2

I found this in Florida. Yours was in Arizona. : ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) -- Something in the lakes around Orlando, Florida, has claimed the lives of three boys this summer.


Will Sellars' family says he died after being exposed to a deadly amoeba on a Florida lake.

"This thing is just there. It's lurking like some deadly thing in the water which can take our children's lives and we all have to be aware," said Orange County Health Department Director Dr. Kevin Sherin.

The "thing" isn't a fish or alligator. It is so small it cannot be seen with the naked eye. The killer that lives in the hot, fresh water is a single cell amoeba that once exposed to the human brain through the nasal passages is almost always fatal.

At first people exposed to the amoeba, naegleria fowleri, suffer from flu-like symptoms. Very quickly, in from one to 14 days, the symptoms worsen, Sherin said. "There's a downhill course. Folks lapse into a coma; there are abnormal movements of the eyes and a terrible cascade of events leading to the actual death of parts of the brain."

Sherin said exposure to the amoeba can be detected by an MRI and it can be treated with antibiotics if caught early enough, but Sherin said he believes medical personnel are not in the habit of looking for the disease.

That is because the amoeba is very rare. The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, has documented 24 cases in the United States since 1989.

Health officials do not know what caused three cases in Orlando in one summer. Theories range from warmer temperatures to a drought that has lowered lake levels. Sherin said officials considered closing access to the lakes, but concluded they did not have the authority. Even if public lakes had been closed, private lakes would have remained open.

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Learn more about the potentially deadly amoeba
So, at 15 parks and lakes around the city, warnings about the amoeba have been posted. The signs urge bathers to wear nose clips or stay out of water warmer than 80 degrees Fahrenheit, which can be a breeding ground for the amoeba.

The warnings provide little solace for Steve Sellars.

Health investigators said they believe Sellars' 11-year old son, Will, was exposed to the amoeba during an August weekend spent learning to wakeboard on Orlando's Lake Jessamine.

"You think it won't happen to me, it won't happen to my family." Sellars said. "You're wrong"

"[Will's] symptoms were like a flu bug," Sellars said, "We rushed him to the hospital and two days later he's passed away. It's like a nightmare."


A month later, a 10-year-old boy died from exposure to the amoeba. Investigators have not determined where he was exposed. The death of a 14 year-old boy in June in the Orlando area also is being blamed on the amoeba.

As he investigates the deaths of the three boys from the amoeba, Sherin is concerned these type of deaths may be underreported. Health departments in Florida are not required to report amoeba infections to the state. The illness is so rare, he said, it may be commonly misdiagnosed in the United States and internationally.

Answer 3

News article
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.

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http://eands.caltech.edu/articles/LXVI4/brainworms.html

Brain amoebas and worms

Answer 4

Yes! It's good to be aware of something like that, but I wouldn't go overboard worrying about it. Note, they said it is found in fresh water. So, I'd just stick to swimming in salt water, that being the case. I don't like lake water anyway. It's usually dirty and full of bacteria. Or as the article suggested, one should wear nose plugs. Good idea, then, a safety mechanism if you want to splash around in fresh water. Salt water, on the other hand, is way cleaner, due to the fact of the salt, that is nature's antiseptic!

Answer 5

wow thats sad. i live just a few miles from a man made lake. ive never heard of such a thing around here. oh well we all need to be more precautious.

Answer 6

Yes...there was a horrble outbreak in Jena, Louisiana last week!

Answer 7

Yeah, I think it's called "Yahoo Answers, R&S"

Answer 8

Yeah, I hear him eating away right now.

Answer 9

make them stop!