Would You Drink It?

Hey folks,

Heidi posted this link in the comment section of Real Life X-Files Part Two. I have done the work for you, so that you will not have to cut and past. {Smile} Here is the article. I also pose to you this question, would you drink this? I bet you Heidi wouldn’t. I know I won’t. But this DOES seem to be a growing problem.

AP -Experts: Amoeba Doesn't Pose Health Risk

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Recent tests have shown that a brain-eating amoeba is in Tucson's water supply, but experts say the microscopic bug doesn't pose any health risks.

Tucson Water chlorinates its well water before distribution, killing the amoeba known as Naegleria fowleri before the water hits taps. But the amoeba's presence in our underground water source — probably as a result of biodegradable oil used in pumps — is a surprise to some researchers. The amoeba is usually found in surface water such as rivers and lakes.

WAIT Where is the “biodegradable oil” in Lake JBL, or Lake Havasu? I bet that’s NOT what is casing it.

The organism is everywhere, said Charles Gerba, a microbiology professor with the University of Arizona's Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science. It feeds on bacteria.

So is anyone asking WHY? Why is it seeming to appear everywhere NOW? Anyone? They all seem too busy down playing the threat.

Naegleria fowleri made headlines recently when it killed a 14-year-old boy who had gone swimming in Lake Havasu last month.

The amoebas enter the body through the nose and travel to the brain, where they feed until the person dies. The only way to get infected is to snort water. A person can drink water that has Naegleria fowleri and never be infected.

Again, would YOU drink it?

The amoeba lives in soil and is often present in warm bodies of water, particularly hot springs and lakes. Pools, if not chlorinated properly, can become homes to the microbes Tucson Water joined Maricopa County cities in a study of well water in 2005 to determine the amoeba's presence in drinking water and develop treatment to eliminate any potential health risks.

The study, which is being led by Gerba, was sparked, in part, by the deaths of two Peoria boys in 2002 from the organism.

Where did they get it from?

Gerba and others sampled 35 Tucson Water wells and initially found some presence of the bug in 12 of the wells. Those 12 wells were resampled and five were confirmed to have the bug.

A year passed, and the 12 wells were sampled again. Eleven came out clean, and one well needs to be resampled because of an error, Gerba said, adding that the inconsistency in testing is common with Naegleria.

While Tucson Water chlorinates its groundwater before distribution, Gerba said he was concerned about private wells that aren't necessarily chlorinated.

There were roughly 250 private wells in the greater Tucson area in 2004, state records show. Researchers also sampled 20 private wells, but they found no presence of Naegleria.

The discrepancy has led Gerba to think Naegleria fowleri is showing up in the Tucson Water wells because of biodegradable oil that's used as a lubricant for pumps.

Pumping capacity in private wells is much smaller, and, as such, the pumps don't rely on engines, he said.

{Sigh}

Naegleria was discovered in the 1960s and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have tracked only several hundred cases worldwide.

Between 1995 and 2004, 23 people in the United States were infected by Naegleria fowleri, according to the CDC.

Infected and DIED Like I said, they seems too busy downplaying this, to actually be looking for answers. If it really has always been around forever, then WHY all of a sudden is it killing people more and more? Why is it seem to be appearing “everywhere?” Someone needs to stop trying to convince people how “rare” this is and start looking for answers.

Thank you very much Heidi. See you soon.
Peter

Sources:
OPNTalk- Real Life X-Files Part Two
AP- Experts: Amoeba Doesn't Pose Health Risk

Real Life X-Files, Part Two

Hey folks,

Just this past Sunday, I told you about a real life X-Files out there. A “brain eating bug” that has caused the death of six people so far this year. Sunday, the AP talked about a 14 year old boy named Aaron Evans who went with his family to Lake Havasu to swim on his Birthday.

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.

If you remember the town of Lake Havasu City was THINKING about warning people. Now CNN is telling the story of 12 year old, Jack Herrera.

According to CNN-Rare but deadly amoeba infection hard to prevent By Patrick Oppmann and John Zarrella

(CNN) -- Ray Herrera does not mince words about what his 12-year-old son, Jack, went through.

"It's beyond description to watch your most precious, beautiful, wonderful, loved one become a vegetable essentially and then die," Herrera said.

I cannot even imagine.

In August, Jack returned from summer camp that included swims in Texas' Lake LBJ. Five days after coming home he was dead, killed by a microscopic amoeba.

"He was the happiest boy anyone ever knew," Herrera said.

Jack is one of six people to die this summer in the United States from the naegleria fowleri amoeba.

All were believed by health officials to have contracted the amoeba from swimming in warm, freshwater lakes, rivers or natural springs. There is no risk from properly chlorinated swimming pools, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The amoeba enters the human body through the nose. It then travels to the brain, where it begins to feed.

Symptoms of the amoeba's rampage begin 1 to 14 days after infection and resemble the flu. At the onset of those symptoms the amoeba victim's health swiftly declines.

At this point, says Dr. Kevin Sherin of the Orange County Health Department who is investigating three deaths this summer in Florida, "It's progressing very rapidly and then there's a downhill course for them there. 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."

Although exposure to the amoeba is usually fatal, Sherin says a cocktail of drugs can fight the amoeba if administered in time. The key, he says, is identifying the amoeba early.

In the hot summer months when the amoeba flourishes, he said, doctors need to learn to look for the symptoms of an amoeba-related illness.

"Physicians have to consider it. The public needs to consider it," Sherin said. "If you have a flu-like illness or a bad headache following swimming in a freshwater body and the temperature is over 80 degrees Fahrenheit, be aware of this."

Or stay the HELL OUT of fresh water that is over 80 degrees.

However, only a handful of doctors have seen a patient with the rare amoeba.

Until this summer there were only 24 known cases of the virus in the U.S. since 1989, according to the CDC.

This is why someone better be looking into this. 24 since 1989. 6 so far this year? There is cause for concern over this.

Health officials cannot explain the spike in cases this summer, except that weather plays a factor.

"Because it's been such a hot summer, that has contributed to warmer water temperatures and lower water levels and that makes an ideal environment for the amoeba," said Dr. Rebecca Sunenshine of the Arizona Department of Health, which is investigating a death last month there tied to the amoeba.

Another question health officials have is why the amoeba seems to appear more often in young males. All six victims this summer were male, ages 10 to 22 years old. One theory, the CDC says, is that young males might be more likely to engage in water sports such as water skiing or wakeboarding. Those can lead to greater exposure to the amoeba.

But other than wearing nose plugs while swimming or staying out of freshwater above 80 degrees Fahrenheit, there is little people can do to prevent exposure to the amoeba.

SO WHY risk it? Seriously.

Health officials say federal or local governments have few tools to combat the amoeba.

Even testing the water for amoeba levels, said the CDC's Dr. Michael Beach, would be of minimal benefit to swimmers.

"It would be very difficult because the testing procedures wouldn't tell you what's going on until days after people would actually be in that water." Beach said this week on CNN's American Morning.

"So, you have to assume that it's there and try and reduce these risks even further. This is an extremely rare infection, so we have to keep that in perspective as well, although it's very severe," Beach said.

HOW ABOUT CLOSING these areas where you KNOW it is? What about public safety? Are people being warning about Lake LBJ ? What about Lake Havasu? Where did the THREE die in Florida? Where did they get it from?

In Orange County, Florida, county health department officials have rejected calls to close the lakes this summer. Dr. Kevin Sherin said the department does not have the authority to deny access to public lakes and that privately owned lake areas would remain open regardless of any action to close the lakes.

{Sigh} It’s a pubic health issue. People are losing their kids. They are DYING. OK, if you are not able, by law to close the lake, you CAN, on public property, warn people that there is a BRAIN EATING BUG in the water and this or that people DIED there.

Instead, the health department has posted signs at 15 swimming and boating areas where people may face exposure to the amoeba.

The effectiveness of the signs appears mixed. When a CNN crew recently visited a bathing area near a natural spring, the water was packed with families.

As he sunbathed near a sign warning of amoebas, John Walters seemed unconcerned about danger possibly lurking beneath the clear, inviting waters. "Its no worse I suppose than the gator signs over there and somebody did get attacked here once."

I’d rather deal with an Gator. But apparently this is an ignorant statement. He seems clueless. Not his fault, this JUST started to be reported. If I had gone to a lake and saw a sign that said something like, “Warning, in extremely rare conditions, you may come into contact with an amoeba that could become fatal. Where nose plugs.” I would not be that concerned. But if these signs tell the TRUTH. “Warning. A 14 year old boy died after swimming here. He contracted the naegleria fowleri amoeba. This amoeba attacks the brain and causes nearly certain death within 1-7 days. It IS in this Lake. Swim as your own risk.” I would think TWICE. If not say “Oh Hell no. we will go somewhere else.” “Brain Eating Bug” might also have an impact.

I’m sorry, but I just do not see some taking this seriously. Here are two stories in the past week of Fathers that have lost their children. Those in charge of the lakes do not se em that willing to warn people. The CDC is telling people via a news story here and there, but do not seem all that concerned, or seem to feel this is all that important. Ask those that have lost their kids.
Peter

Sources:
OPNTalk-Real Life X-Files
CNN-Rare but deadly amoeba infection hard to prevent

H.S. For Sunday 093007

Real Life X-Files

Hey folks,

Leave it to the Mass Media to take a real and present danger, and twist it around to fit an agenda. Here is a perfect example. We have a very real threat. One that has claimed the lives of six young men and boys so far this year. But, as this article eludes to, this problem will INCREASE and more and more people will die in the future. Why? Global Warming.

According to the AP -6 die from brain-eating amoeba in lakes By CHRIS KAHN, Associated Press WriterSat Sep 29, 12:59 AM ET

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.

Actually, as I read this, The X-Files theme was playing in my head. As a matter of fact, I could almost hear Mulder telling this to Scully.

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.

You think? Here is the Chicken Little Global Warming reference.

"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."

{Sigh}

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."

There is a pleasant thought.

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.

Fatal within two weeks.

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.

In central Florida, authorities started an amoeba phone hot line advising people to avoid warm, standing water and areas with algae blooms. Texas health officials also have issued warnings.

"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.

Get this..

Officials in the town of Lake Havasu City are discussing whether to take action. "Some folks think we should be putting up signs. Some people think we should close the lake," city spokesman Charlie Cassens said.

They are THINKING ABOUT IT????

Beach cautioned that people shouldn't panic about the dangers of the brain-eating bug. Cases are still extremely rare considering the number of people swimming in lakes. "The easiest way to prevent infection," Beach said, "is to use nose clips 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.

Uh, let’s see. You KNOW that there is a brain eating bug living in the water, and your advice to people is where nose plugs?

David Evans has tried to learn as much as possible about the amoeba over the past month. But it still doesn't make much sense to him. His family had gone to Lake Havasu countless times. Have people always been in danger? Did city officials know about the amoeba? Can they do anything to kill them off?

I would be doing more than asking. I would be hiring someone to look into this. This City and those in charge need to be doing more than THINKING about putting up a sign. This man’s Son died. This is completely bizarre to me. Is the revenue coming in worth more than this man’s Son, or others that MAY very well die in the future?

Evans lives within eyesight of the lake. Temperatures hover in the triple digits all summer, and like almost everyone else in this desert region, the Evanses look to the lake to cool off.

It was on David Evans' birthday Sept. 8 that he brought Aaron, his other two children, and his parents to Lake Havasu. They ate sandwiches and spent a few hours splashing around.

"For a week, everything was fine," Evans said.

Then Aaron got the headache that wouldn't go away. At the hospital, doctors first suspected meningitis. Aaron was rushed to another hospital in Las Vegas.

"He asked me at one time, 'Can I die from this?'" David Evans said. "We said, 'No, no.'"

On Sept. 17, Aaron stopped breathing as his father held him in his arms.

My condolences to Mr. Evans. May he receive the peace and comfort he and the rest of his family need in this time.

"He was brain dead," Evans said. Only later did doctors and the CDC determine that the boy had been infected with Naegleria.

"My kids won't ever swim on Lake Havasu again," he said.

This lake should be closed down until it can be deemed safe. This is completely bizarre that they would THINK about warning people. I do not know about you, but I will think twice before I go swimming or bring my Son to any fresh water area after reading this. I think I would rather deal with the possibility of meeting a shark in the ocean than meeting a “Brain Eating Bug.”
Peter

Source:

AP -6 die from brain-eating amoeba in lakes