Brain Eating Amoeba In A Section of Texas Water

fmdog44

Well-known Member
Location
Houston, Texas
Lake Jackson is near the coast and today there is a DON'T USE THE WATER emergency bulletin for that area due to the suspected presence of a brain eating amoeba! It enters through the nose and one 6 year old boy died from it recently. So the people affected by this cannot use their water for anything until the ban is lifted. Another reason for 2020 to end ASAP.
 

The so-called brain-eating amoeba is a species discovered in 1965. It's formal name is Naegleria fowleri. Although first identified in Australia, this amoeba is believed to have evolved in the U.S. There are several species of Naegleria but only the fowleri species causes human disease.

Infections with Naegleria fowleri are extremely rare, but also extremely deadly. Only 146 cases have been reported in the U.S. since 1962, with only four surviving the infection; so there is a 97% chance of death.

Naegleria fowleri causes the disease primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a brain infection that leads to the destruction of brain tissue. In its early stages, symptoms of PAM may be similar to symptoms of bacterial meningitis.

This info was copied from several articles on the CDC website.
 

I've heard about enough scary things (including that amoeba) to be glad I don't care for swimming.
A few months ago, I watched a liability case that involved something similar. A woman joined many other guests & swam in a lake behind a large hotel. She ended up with an infection that cost her her leg - all the way to her hip. A doctor testified about the type of bacteria in the water & how it can enter from the tiniest break in the skin, and in some vulnerable people it can be tragic.
I just remembered something else about that case. She was taking medication for arthritis & the doctor explained that it made her vulnerable to such an infection by compromising her immune system.
Something to consider before we go swimming, since many of us take such medication.
 
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Where did you see this story at Fmdog?
This has been all over the news the last few days, as a 6 yr old boy they think was spraying around with his garden hose died from the brain eating amoeba. Not from drinking it, but from spraying possibly up his nose with the water.
 


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