Events Calendar
In This Section
Ex-astronaut pleads guilty in attack on rival
Bill Clinton urges Senate Dems to pass health care
Autopsies complete on Fort Hood victims
Feds bust ATM hacking ring accused of stealing $9 million
Woman would like to buy back long-lost VW van
Mother tried to shield baby in fatal shootings
Ex-Miss California admits to making sex tape
Review: Police did not cause Celtic fan's death
Marine reservist accused of attacking Greek priest he mistook for terrorist
Most Read Stories
Suitcase causes bomb scare at Akron bus terminal
Akron City Council OKs higher speed on I-77
Chapel Hill isn't rolling right along
Motorcyclist killed, wife injured in Stark County crash
New eateries expand menu of options
Man says he was punched, robbed by 3 people in parking lot
Patrick McManamon: Here's what the Browns should try the rest of the season
Louisville athlete commits to play for Boston College
Family found dead in Ohio home
Blogs:
Pets:
It Takes All Kinds
The Heldenfiles:
Tuesday Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
An interesting thought from a reader
Akron Zips:
Akron vs. Mount Union — Liveblog
Tribe Matters:
Indians announce spring dates
Cleveland Browns:
Mangini doesn't name a quarterback
Kent State Sports:
Flashes interested in another Cincinnati player
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Shaq: It’s All About Winning Championships
Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeyes Roll 100-60 / Season Outlook
Varsity Letters:
Report: Walsh baseball player commits
All Da King's Men:
More On The Fort Hood Jihadist
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Simply Incapable of Telling The Truth
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (63) Commonwealth Fund Report on Primary Care
See Jane Style:
Muffle Your Muffler
Car Chase:
Clock Tender- Extending the Life of Collector Car Clocks
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Rumors: Akron Starbucks Closing
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Jack is looking for a trip to Southern Ohio the week of November 16.
Sound Check:
Aeromsith looking for new singer as Steven Tyler contemplates solo career
HRLite House:
Personal Rant – Why People Do Not Live in Northeast Ohio
Akron Gamer:
Video: 'Modern Warfare 2' hits the streets
Brain-eating organisms in warm, stagnant lakes infect through nostrils
By Chris Kahn Associated Press
Published on Saturday, Sep 29, 2007
PHOENIX: It seemed like a headache, nothing more. But when painkillers and a trip to the emergency room didn't fix Aaron Evans, 14, he asked his dad if he was going to die.
''No, no,'' David Evans remembered saying.
''We didn't know. And here I am: I come home and I'm burying him,'' the grieving father said.
What was bothering Aaron was a killer amoeba that enters the body through the nose and travels to the brain, where it feeds, destroying brain tissue.
Doctors said the teen probably picked up the microscopic amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, a week earlier while swimming in the balmy shallows of Lake Havasu near his home on the state's western line.
Such attacks are rare but they are usually fatal, and six boys and young men have died this year in three states. Aaron Evans' death Sept. 17 was the most recent. 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 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, Naegleria killed 23 people in the United States from 1995 to 2004. This year health officials say they've noticed a spike in cases, with three in Florida, two in Texas and Aaron Evans' death in Arizona. The CDC knows of only several hundred cases worldwide since its discovery in Australia in the 1960s.
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 cannonball off a cliff the amoeba can latch onto the olfactory nerve.
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 and behavioral changes.
There is no good treatment. Some drugs have stopped Naegleria in lab experiments, but people who have been infected rarely survive, Beach said.
''Usually, from initial exposure, it's fatal within two weeks,'' Beach 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.
The easiest way to prevent infection, Beach said, is to use nose clips when swimming or diving in fresh water.
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.
PHOENIX: It seemed like a headache, nothing more. But when painkillers and a trip to the emergency room didn't fix Aaron Evans, 14, he asked his dad if he was going to die.
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
