Posted October 2, 200718 yr 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. eeeeee 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." After doing more tests, doctors said Aaron probably picked up the amoeba a week before while swimming in the balmy shallows of Lake Havasu, a popular man-made lake on the Colorado River between Arizona and California. Though infections tend to be found in southern states, Naegleria lives almost everywhere in lakes, hot springs, even dirty swimming pools, grazing off algae and bacteria in the sediment. Beach said people become infected when they wade through shallow water and stir up the bottom. If someone allows water to shoot up the nose — say, by doing a somersault in chest-deep water — the amoeba can latch onto the olfactory nerve. The amoeba destroys tissue as it makes its way up into the brain, where it continues the damage, "basically feeding on the brain cells," Beach said. People who are infected tend to complain of a stiff neck, headaches and fevers. In the later stages, they'll show signs of brain damage such as hallucinations and behavioral changes, he said. Once infected, most people have little chance of survival. Some drugs have stopped the amoeba in lab experiments, but people who have been attacked rarely survive, Beach said. "Usually, from initial exposure it's fatal within two weeks," he said. Researchers still have much to learn about Naegleria. They don't know why, for example, children are more likely to be infected, and boys are more often victims than girls. "Boys tend to have more boisterous activities (in water), but we're not clear," Beach said www.yahoo.com
October 2, 200718 yr tsunamis, mysterious diseases from meteors, brain eating amoebas, release of HALO3 (watch the halocaust vid) the end is near!
October 2, 200718 yr Heh, what they don't tell you is that, if I recall, this is only because some pigeons took a crap in these lakes, and the pigeon faeces carry the Naegleria. Now people who read this are going to think, "omg every laek is infected!1!!" As the article does state, even if it did go up your nostril, it would have to be WAY up there. It's nothing to really worry about. It's been around for a while, but is just getting attention again. I remember freaking out about this same amoeba when I was a wee lad.
October 2, 200718 yr AHHHHH it r teh killerz amoebaz from mars!!!! we must pour gasoline in all lakes and set them aflame just in case, for it is the right thing to do.
October 2, 200718 yr AHHHHH it r teh killerz amoebaz from mars!!!! we must pour gasoline in all lakes and set them aflame just in case, for it is the right thing to do. What part of heat loving amoeba didn't u understand;)
October 3, 200718 yr :eek:This is Crazy. I dont know if i will swim in lakes anymore:eek: -Sigh.- Like I said, this is the general public's response to articles like these. Naegleria has been around for a long while, and just because it wasn't in the news doesn't mean people weren't dying from it in that time. It's just like West Nile virus. Do you think it goes away when it's not being reported on? No, it doesn't. Elsewhere in the world -- perhaps even in America -- someone probably has West Nile virus. It's just an increased number of deaths which brings with it awareness. Not every lake is infected. As I said in my original post, I believe pigeons carry the Naegleria and the infected pigeon has to transfer it to the lake through its faeces. Let's think about this for a moment. 1.) Pigeon must be infected. Not every pigeon is infected, IIRC. 2.) Pigeon must poop in lake (or any water). 3.) Lake (or any water) must be suitable for Naegleria to live. Your swimming pool, for example, might be pleasant to Naegleria. 4.) Lake (or pool) must be the one you're swimming in. 5.) The water that enters your nostrils must have the Naegleria in it. 6.) Naegleria must enter your nostrils; not just into your nostrils, but WAYYY up there. Enough to latch onto your olfactory nerve. Here's a picture of just where your olfactory bulb is. http://www.med.yale.edu/caim/cnerves/cn1/cn1_graphics/cn1_anatomy.jpg What, do you think, are the chances of all those being true are? Slim. VERY slim. So slim that, if I recall, only about 300 cases of this have ever been reported. I've already had people talking to me about this, panicked. It's a shame. It's been around since the 1960s! Have you been in any lakes in the last 40 years? Chances are, you've been exposed to Naegleria. Know the threat and act accordingly. Just because there's been a minor outbreak recently of people being rambunctious in a lake wherein Naegleria resided doesn't mean you should stop doing something you enjoy.
October 3, 200718 yr 23 people died don't freak out, more people die from durgs and alcohol abuse in like 1 day.
October 3, 200718 yr Author well the thing is used to be only a nerd would wear one of those nose clamp things geee I will be now I used to canoe and swim in the lake all the time canon ball water up the nose and all not any more lol
October 3, 200718 yr Ah hell f*** this! I'd rather be bit by a shark than have a damn parasite eat my brains out! < : O .
October 4, 200718 yr I think the fact it got to the brain is incidental. It's doubtful the amoeba, a single-celled organism, had GPS or a roadmap. It doesn't even have eyes! A bigger question is why didn't the immune systems of these people attack and destroy it. I vote biological warfare agent accidentally released. Some sort of weaponized amoeba. Pigeons carry toxoplasmosis a pathologic fungus. Rats of the sky. Pigeon poop is like toxic waste, but I'm not sure it carries amoebas.
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