Arizona Boy Dies Of Rare Infection

[Guest guest]

Disturbing. I remember hearing of a case years ago of a boy swimming in

a artificial lake at, I believe, Disney World in Florida. ONE more thing

to worry about. Geeze, " Attack of the Brain-Eating Amoebas " . . .

 

http://www.kpho.com/news/14214579/detail.html

 

Arizona Boy Dies Of Rare Infection

 

CDC: Cases Are Spiking In 2007

 

POSTED: 7:44 pm PDT September 26, 2007

UPDATED: 9:31 pm PDT September 26, 2007

 

PHOENIX -- A 14-year-old Lake Havasu boy has become the sixth victim to

die nationwide this year of a microscopic organism that attacks the body

through the nasal cavity, quickly eating its way to the brain.

Aaron Evans died Sept. 17 of Naegleria fowleri, an organism doctors said

he probably picked up a week before while swimming in the balmy shallows

of Lake Havasu.

According to the Centers For Disease Control, Naegleria infected 23

people from 1995 to 2004. This year health officials said they've

noticed a spike in cases, with six Naegleria-related cases so far -- all

of them fatal.

Such attacks are extremely rare, though 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 water-born illnesses for the CDC.

" 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. "

Organism Lives In Lake Bottoms

Though infections tend to be found in southern states, Naegleria has

been found almost everywhere in lakes, hot springs, even some swimming

pools. Still, the CDC knows of only several hundred cases worldwide

since its discovery in Australia in the 1960s.

The amoeba typically live in lake bottoms, 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 person's olfactory nerve.

The amoeba destroys tissue as it makes its way up to the brain.

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.

Once infected, most people have little chance of survival. Some drugs

have been effective stopping the amoeba in lab experiments, but people

who have been attacked rarely survive, Beach said.

" Usually, from initial exposure it's fatal within two weeks, " Beach

said.

Researchers still have much to learn about Naegleria, Beach said. For

example, it seems that children are more likely to get infected, and

boys are infected more often than girls. Experts don't know why.

" Boys tend to have more boisterous activities (in water), but we're not

clear, " he said.

Texas, Florida Report Cases

In addition to the Arizona case, health officials reported two cases in

Texas and three more in central Florida this year. In response, central

Florida authorities started an amoeba telephone hot line advising people

to avoid warm, standing water, or any areas with obvious algae blooms.

Texas health officials also have issued news releases about the dangers

of amoeba attacks and to be cautious around water. People " seem to think

that everything can be made safe, including any river, any creek, but

that's just not the case, " said Doug McBride, a spokesman for the Texas

Department of State Health Services.

Lake Havasu City officials also are discussing how to deal with rare

amoeba attacks in the wake of Aaron Evans' death. " Some folks think we

should be putting up signs. Some people think we should close the lake, "

city spokesman Charlie Cassens said. City leaders haven't yet decided

what to do.

Beach warned that people shouldn't panic about the dangers of

brain-eating amoeba. Infections are extremely rare when compared with

the number of times a year people come into contact with water. And

there have been occasional years during the past two decades that

experts noticed a similar spike in infections.

The easiest way to prevent infection, Beach said, is to simply plug your

nose when swimming or diving in fresh water.

" You'd have to have water going way up in your nose to begin with " to be

infected, he said.

Aaron's Infection Started With Headache

The Evans family lives within eyesight of Lake Havasu, a bulging strip

of the Colorado River that separates Arizona from California.

Temperatures hover in the triple digits all summer, and like almost

everyone else, the Evans family looks to the lake to cool off.

On Sept. 8, he brought Aaron, his two other children and his parents to

Lake Havasu to celebrate his birthday. They ate sandwiches and spent a

few hours splashing around one of the beaches.

" For a week, everything was fine, " he said.

Then Aaron got the headache that wouldn't go away. Evans took him to the

hospital, and doctors thought his son was suffering from meningitis.

Aaron was rushed to another hospital in Las Vegas.

Evans tried to reassure his son, but he had no idea what was wrong. On

Sept. 17, Aaron stopped breathing as David held him in his arms.

" He was brain dead, " David said. Only later did doctors realize the boy

had been infected with Naegleria.

" My kids won't ever swim on Lake Havasu again. "