Dear Friends--So here's another adverse side effect of global warming. Please see paragraph 4 (my emphasis added if you see red text). "You can take your clothes off, but don't go near the water!" Tom
>Arizona Boy Dies Of Rare Infection > > >CDC: Cases Are Spiking In 2007 > > > >PHOENIX -- A 14-year-old Lake Havasu boy has become the sixth victim to >die nationwide this year of a microscopic organism that attacks the body >through the nasal cavity, quickly eating its way to the brain. Aaron Evans >died Sept. 17 of Naegleria fowleri, an organism doctors said he probably >picked up a week before while swimming in the balmy shallows of Lake Havasu. > >According to the Centers For Disease Control, Naegleria infected 23 people >from 1995 to 2004. This year health officials said they've noticed a spike >in cases, with six Naegleria-related cases so far -- all of them fatal. >Such attacks are extremely rare, though some health officials have put >their communities on high alert, telling people to stay away from warm, >standing water. > >"This is definitely something we need to track," said Michael Beach, a >specialist in recreational water-born illnesses for the CDC. > >"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." > >Organism Lives In Lake Bottoms > >Though infections tend to be found in southern states, Naegleria has been >found almost everywhere in lakes, hot springs, even some swimming pools. >Still, the CDC knows of only several hundred cases worldwide since its >discovery in Australia in the 1960s. > >The amoeba typically live in lake bottoms, 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 cannonball off a cliff -- the amoeba can latch >onto the person's olfactory nerve. > >The amoeba destroys tissue as it makes its way up to the brain. People >who are infected tend to complain of a stiff neck, headaches and fevers, >Beach said. In the later stages, they'll show signs of brain damage such >as hallucinations, behavioral changes and a desire to vote for Republicans. > >Once infected, most people have little chance of survival. Some drugs have >been effective stopping 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," Beach said. >Researchers still have much to learn about Naegleria, Beach said. For >example, it seems that children are more likely to get infected, and boys >are infected more often than girls. Experts don't know why. "Boys tend to >have more boisterous activities (in water), but we're not clear," he said. > >Texas, Florida Report Cases > >In addition to the Arizona case, health officials reported two cases in >Texas and three more in central Florida this year. In response, central >Florida authorities started an amoeba telephone hot line advising people >to avoid warm, standing water, or any areas with obvious algae blooms. > >Texas health officials also have issued news releases about the dangers of >amoeba attacks and to be cautious around water. People "seem to think that >everything can be made safe, including any river, any creek, but that's >just not the case," said Doug McBride, a spokesman for the Texas >Department of State Health Services. > >Lake Havasu City officials also are discussing how to deal with rare >amoeba attacks in the wake of Aaron Evans' death. "Some folks think we >should be putting up signs. Some people think we should close the lake," >city spokesman Charlie Cassens said. City leaders haven't yet decided what >to do. > >Beach warned that people shouldn't panic about the dangers of brain-eating >amoeba. Infections are extremely rare when compared with the number of >times a year people come into contact with water. And there have been >occasional years during the past two decades that experts noticed a >similar spike in infections. > >The easiest way to prevent infection, Beach said, is to simply plug your >nose when swimming or diving in fresh water. "You'd have to have water >going way up in your nose to begin with" to be infected, he said. > >Aaron's Infection Started With Headache > >The Evans family lives within eyesight of Lake Havasu, a bulging strip of >the Colorado River that separates Arizona from California. Temperatures >hover in the triple digits all summer, and like almost everyone else, the >Evans family looks to the lake to cool off. > >On Sept. 8, he brought Aaron, his two other children and his parents to >Lake Havasu to celebrate his birthday. They ate sandwiches and spent a few >hours splashing around one of the beaches. > >"For a week, everything was fine," he said. Then Aaron got the headache >that wouldn't go away. Evans took him to the hospital, and doctors thought >his son was suffering from meningitis. Aaron was rushed to another >hospital in Las Vegas. Evans tried to reassure his son, but he had no idea >what was wrong. On Sept. 17, Aaron stopped breathing as David held him in >his arms. > >"He was brain dead," David said. Only later did doctors realize the boy >had been infected with Naegleria. "My kids won't ever swim on Lake Havasu >again." Tom Shelley 118 E. 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