global warming bring on the amoedas

Sounds like some science fiction disease. But it has been anticipated
that global warming will bring on new diseases spreading into
the previously less risky areas of the Northern hemisphere.

******


Rare but deadly amoeba infection hard to prevent


Amoeba lives in freshwater lakes warmer than 80 degrees Fahrenheit
Six deaths reported this summer because of amoeba
Infection rare; only sure prevention is to stay out of the water

By Patrick Oppmann and John Zarrella
CNN



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

Jack Herrera is one of six people to die this year because
of the naegleria fowleri amoeba.

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

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.
Watch how to reduce risk of contracting the amoeba »

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."

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.


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 i
nvestigating 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.

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.

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.

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."


.