http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hsswim0530,0,5626783.story?track=rssDeadly brain-eating amoeba strikes swimmers
A rare brain illness spread in freshwater lakes, rivers and hot springs killed six people in Florida, Texas and Arizona in 2007, the most in more than five years, according to a U.S. report.
The infection, almost always fatal, typically affects boys swimming during the months of July, August and September, said the report released today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
Known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM, the infection has struck 121 people in 15 southern states over the last 71 years, the CDC said. It is caused when Naegleria fowleri, an amoeba found in fresh warm water, goes up the nose to the brain, leading to fatal damage.
"An updated and consistent approach to N. fowleri risk- reduction messages, diagnosis and treatment is needed," the CDC said in its report.
In one instance, a 14-year-old Arizona boy was hospitalized with severe headache, stiff neck and fever. He died from the infection eight days after diving and splashing in shallow water in a lake.
An 11-year-old Florida boy died of the infection 11 days after swimming and wakeboarding, the water equivalent of snowboarding, in a local lake. He was hospitalized as a possible case of bacterial meningitis, suffering headache, fever, nausea, vomiting and confusion.
Another Florida boy, 10, died after two visits to a local water sports facility. A third boy in the state, 14, was confirmed to have the infection in an autopsy after his death, though the location he contracted it was unknown.
A 12-year-old Texas boy was infected during water activities in a lake at summer camp. He was hospitalized when symptoms worsened after three visits to the camp nurse, and died five after admission.
Also in Texas, a man, 22, died after wakeboarding in a lake.
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