Brain-eating amoebas blamed in three deaths

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: CNN

Brain-eating amoebas blamed in three deaths
By Madison Park, CNN
August 17, 2011 12:38 p.m. EDT

(CNN) -- It's eerie but it's true: Three people have died this summer after suffering rare infections from a waterborne amoeba that destroys the brain.

This is the time of year when there is an uptick in cases. The amoebas flourish in the heat -- especially during the summer months in the South, thriving in warm waters where people swim.

Health officials usually record about two to three cases in a given year -- 1980 was the highest with eight deaths. And most of the time, they occur in children and teenagers.

"These are rare infections, but super tragic for families," said Jonathan Yoder, the waterborne disease and outbreak surveillance coordinator at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We don't want to minimize how hard it is for families."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/08/17/amoeba.kids.deaths/#0_undefined,0_

---

"Again?" you're thinking. Incredibly, this is not something new, though I don't recall having heard about it before. From DU:

6 die from brain-eating amoeba in lakes

Source: ap

6 die from brain-eating amoeba in lakes

By CHRIS KAHN, Associated Press Writer Fri Sep 28, 2:18 PM ET

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.

[ZombieHorde]

1. Like many things, this is terrible and fascinating at the same time. nt

[jberryhill]

7. Does competition in the brain eating business make you a little nervous?

[No Elephants]

14. LOL

And ewwww.

[ZombieHorde]

16. As long as DU is around, there will be plenty of brains for dinner. nt

[gkhouston]

24. Yes, but some of them are nutient-poor. n/t

[TwilightGardener]

2. We saw something about this on the Discovery Channel a few years ago--

about a kid who had contracted this after waterskiing in a lake. Scary.

[Lint Head]

3. Brain-eating amoebas? At first I thought it was eluding to the Tea Bagger Party.

[IrishAle]

18. never happen, it would starve to death at a Teabagger rally (nt)

Nyet on Text

[Remember Me]

22. uh, not to be critical but (I hope) helpful

it's allude, not elude.

Elude would be to escape, as the law, or taxes. Allude is to make a reference to. Allusion is the noun.

[Lint Head]

30. In the virtual world I am a mispelling rebel without a Santa Claus.

[Uben]

4. We test our lake water this time every year for the amoeba

We live on a small 640 acre lake in Texas, so it's probably big enough not to have any stagnant water in it. It is spring fed, but a run-off rain could bring some in from stagnant waters elsewhere upstream. We have never found anything but safe water here, but we have it checked monthly during summer months.

[InvisibleTouch]

20. Good thing there is a test for it!

Is it a test kit that you can use yourself, or do you have to send in a water sample to a lab?

[Uben]

26. It has to go to a lab

We usually just check for ecoli since our lake is fed by some creeks, when they have water in them. We have cattle ranches upstream, and some people are worried some of the fecal matter washing in might contaminate, but we have yet to get any bad readings. We started checking for that amoeba a few years ago when it was all over the news.

We have to take a water sample that is about 18 inches below the surface. I was responsible for this duty for a couple of years, but now we rotate. We check everywhere water runs into the lake, which is all the coves.

[jberryhill]

5. ...and at least four presidential campaigns

[pam4water]

6. There was an abandoned water filled quarry near where I grew up. It seem to have the amoebas all

the time. People knew it but a few teens swam there every summer and one of them usually picked it up :(

[BetterThanNoSN]

8. That explains it...

The Right-wing Republicans must've been drinking infected water the last several years.

[slackmaster]

9. Always blaming tiny, defenseless creatures for the destruction that only mankind could have caused

:nuke:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

10. "It's eerie but it's true..."

Worst opener ever.

[xchrom]

11. Yuck - god, that is scary. Nt

[Plucketeer]

12. Remarkable!

I think all the GOP hopefuls should be tested to see what degree of their brains are already consumed. :spray:

[a la izquierda]

13. That explains Rick Perry.

[No Elephants]

15. I thought his toupee was too tight, but maybe it is the fault of the amoeba.

[a la izquierda]

21. It's been hot as hell...

in the southern Plains, and the water doesn't move around much. I'm sure those little gross things are eating his brain.

[greiner3]

17. I was expectig to see Bachmann's name;

Associated with this post.

Maybe she just hasn't fallen down yet.

[Liberalynn]

19. Palin's too!

:)

Ole Caribou Barbie sure doesn't seem like she's got a brain left either.

[Habibi]

23. Oh, god!

Does anybody remember the Twilight Zone episode where the main character had an earwig eat its way through his brain?

Man, I'm not a big fan of lake swimming, and I'm even less of one now.

[Hestia]

28. It was "Night Gallery" and yes, I still think about that episode when bugs are out

[BreweryYardRat]

25. This is why I swim in the ocean or pools, thank you.

Chlorine and salt are bad for micro-organisms.

[Odin2005]

27. I knew it had to be Naegleria before I even read the article.

[girl gone mad]

29. I think nose plugs can prevent infection.

These amoeba enter the brain through the nasal passages, if I am remembering correctly. This is why children are more susceptible - they are more active swimmers and more likely to have water go up their noses.

[eppur_se_muova]

31. It seems this has always been around, just at a very low level ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=145&topic_id=9613&mesg_id=9613

It can be cured if caught early enough. The problem is that doctors aren't very aware of this possibility, and so often diagnose it too late.