- People can't be infected with the amoeba by swallowing contaminated water.
- Ongoing heat and droughts could put more people at risk.
- The organism travels from the nose to the brain.
The brain-eating amoeba that killed three people this summer is an
organism that thrives in warm fresh water and can be found in lakes, rivers,
hot springs and soil, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
All three deaths this year occurred in the South: a 16-year-old girl in
Florida, a 9-year-old boy in Virginia and a 20-year-old man in Louisiana.
A brutal summer and drought make the conditions perfect for the amoeba.
The threat of N. fowleri could potentially be elevated for weeks in some
areas. According to the CDC, infections occur mainly in July, August and
September.
The microscopic amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, attacks anyone who has
the misfortune of inhaling it. It enters first up the nose and then goes to the
brain, usually killing its victims within two weeks.
"Once forced up the nose, it can travel to the brain, where it
digests brain cells," Jonathan Yoder, an epidemiologist at the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, told Discovery News. "It's a very tragic
disease that thankfully is very rare."
Aside from its rarity, the amoeba "is not looking to prey upon
human victims," he said. "They usually go after bacteria in water and
soil."
As single-celled organisms, amoebas do not even have brains. However, Naegleria
species, including this disease-causing one, can transform themselves into
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"During the hottest time of the summer, water in ponds, lakes, and
rivers become very warm and there can be increases in the amounts of amoeba
present," said Florida DOH spokesperson Christie Goss. "We advise
everyone to be aware of the danger of swimming in such water, but especially of
stirring up the sediment in shallow water or diving and swimming under water
which can enable the amoeba to enter the nose and possibly infect the
brain."
Both the DOH and the CDC add that it may help to "hold your nose,
or use nose plugs when jumping or diving into water."
Much about N. fowleri remains a mystery. Anne Oplinger, a
spokesperson for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,
told Discovery News that she wasn't aware of any federally funded studies
investigating the disease at present.
Health officials at the CDC and elsewhere, however, are closely
monitoring the cases, to detect any possible patterns or if the caseload might
rise in future due to climate change or other possible contributing factors. So
far, the number of PAM deaths this year falls within the annual national
average.
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