Oy! 6 die from brain-eating amoeba in lakes!!!

[devilgrrl]

:scared:

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.

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.

more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070928/ap_on_re_us/killer_amoeba_1;_ylt=Agn34smTsZReAb9oXbZ8p4wE1vAI

[pnwmom]

1. Something for the X-files. Great. n/t

[ThomCat]

2. Yes, if there is something in our lakes that can kill this easily

and they don't have a way of treating it, then they damned well better start "tracking it."
x(

[MoonRiver]

3. Yikes!!

One more thing to worry about. :argh:

Aside from that, I love your footprint logo! :D

[Bicoastal]

4. What kind of intelligent designer would DO this to us?

Makes you think...

[FiveGoodMen]

6. Same one that invented the Candiru

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candiru

Not to mention witch burnings, homophobia, and the republican party.

[Bicoastal]

9. Ah, the ever popular up-the-penis fish.

Friggin' nature.

[BlooInBloo]

5. KHHAAAANNN!!!!!!

[shenmue]

7. Does anyone make a quick-test water quality thing?

Is there a water tester you could use to do a diagnosis on a lake or river, so you could know before you do anything, in case the park doesn't have signs posted as to water quality?

:shrug:

[Bonhomme Richard]

8. LOL, just what I need...............

Another reason not to move down south.
Fire ants, alligators, killer bees, tornado's, hurricanes, water shortages, good old boys, etc......
AHhhhhh........but the women...Hmmmmm?
Nah.

[Habibi]

16. Problem is

the south is moving north.

[Squatch]

10. 6 out of 300,000,000...

seems like pretty good odds for the rest of us.

[judaspriestess]

11. great flesh eating amoeba

even though its the brain its eating

[Fridays Child]

12. This probably falls in the category of emerging pathogens due to global warming.

And I seriously doubt that noseclips could possibly provide adequate protection from the microbe.

[originalpckelly]

13. "Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water..."

Amoeba II!

[warren pease]

14. What if one entered a BushBot's cranial cavity and found nothing to eat? n/t

[riverdeep]

15. I wouldn't worry about it.

23 people in 9 years is, sorry to sound dismissive to those who died, nothing. You would do well to be scared to death of that thing sitting in your garage. Graphic representation of your odds of death:

http://www.nsc.org/lrs/statinfo/odds.htm

Looking at the forum rules, apparently you're not allowed to hot link images, so you'll have to hit the link and then click on the image in the upper right.

[eppur_se_muova]

17. some good news ...

"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."

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

[pitohui]

18. it's probably better to pass away than to live without your brain

i've heard some pretty hairy stories about this (not sure if it's the same amoeba tho)

[live love laugh]

19. Brain-eating amoeba = the new sharks. Pfffft.

(Sorry. I have become extremely cynical since BushCo's coup.)