For the second time this month in the United States, a person contracted a deadly Amoeba that infected their bran with fatal results. A 9 year old boy in Virginia was the latest victim. This is a sad, helpless event to go through and my heart is with the parents of the boy that lost his life. Obviously, this is a rare occurrence and it is not common, but when I realized that my husband and children were at the West Branch State Park beach this past weekend (out past Ravenna) with our Church group, I was a little concerned…
What exactly is this Deadly Amoeba Disease?
You may recall from 9th grade biology that an amoeba is a single cell organism. Its not a virus, much much bigger. The recent causes of death have been primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, which is the result of an amoeba of the Naegleria fowleri variety swimming up the nose, through the sinuses and entering the brain. This variety of amoeba lives in fresh water across the country, and the world. It is most common in hotter seasons, and prefers shallow hot areas of resting water over moving water.
How Can I Prevent My Children From getting Amoebic Meningoencephalitis?
- Keep your children from swimming in ponds
- Stay out of shallow water, Especially when temperatures are at their hottest in July and August.
- If you’re swimming in nature, choose big churning lakes or moving rivers.
- It’s silly – but HOLD YOUR NOSE
- Chlorine- but that’s not exactly what you do in a Pond…
