Six People Die from Brain-Eating Amoeba
Wow, this almost sounds like one of those spoof urban legends, but it is not. This is actually real. How can you tell a real article from a fake? The key things are that A) It is an actual article with a link on MSN and it is written by Associated Press, B) It is actually backed by the CDC (Center of Disease Control) and C) It doesn’t say ‘Forward this to everyone you know’ in the body of the story.
- Presario
6 die from brain-eating amoeba
Rare organism that lives in lakes entered victims’ bodies through the nose
The Associated Press (Featured on MSN.com)
Updated: 1:36 p.m. CT Sept 28, 2007
PHOENIX - 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.
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.
“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, 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.
See the full article on MSN at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21034344/from/ET/
- Presario
6 die from brain-eating amoeba
Rare organism that lives in lakes entered victims’ bodies through the nose
The Associated Press (Featured on MSN.com)
Updated: 1:36 p.m. CT Sept 28, 2007
PHOENIX - 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.
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.
“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, 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.
See the full article on MSN at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21034344/from/ET/
posted by Presario at
11:42 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home