ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) -- Something in the lakes around Orlando, Florida, has claimed the lives of three boys this summer.
Will Sellars' family says he died after being exposed to a deadly amoeba on a Florida lake.
"This thing is just there. It's lurking like some deadly thing in the water which can take our children's lives and we all have to be aware," said
Orange County Health Department Director Dr. Kevin Sherin.
The "thing" isn't a fish or alligator. It is so small it cannot be seen with the naked eye. The killer that lives in the hot, fresh water is a
single cell amoeba that once exposed to the human brain through the nasal passages is almost always fatal.
At first people exposed to the amoeba, naegleria fowleri, suffer from flu-like symptoms. Very quickly, in from one to 14 days, the symptoms worsen,
Sherin said. "There's a downhill course. Folks lapse into a coma; there are abnormal movements of the eyes and a terrible cascade of events leading
to the actual death of parts of the brain."
The story says it's effecting 15 parks and lakes around Orlando.
They're also saying that the cases may be very under reported due to the flu like symptoms. So really, you could be on your death bed and not even be
too concerned about it, at least not enough to seek proper care early enough.
But in true Florida fashion, the areas won't be closed.
Warning signs will be posted right beside the alligator signs.
CDC put out a warning a couple years ago:
ATLANTA - Federal health officials warned swimmers Thursday to take precautions in warmwater lakes and streams, mostly in the South, because of a
dangerous amoeba blamed in at least eight deaths in the past two years.
All the victims, most recently a 12-year-old boy who died after swimming in a North Carolina lake in July, suffered swelling of the brain after
inhaling the microscopic organism into their nasal passages. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that swimmers in fresh waters
of least 80 degrees hold their noses, wear nose clips or keep their heads out of the water..................
The story continues...
Last year, two cases each were reported in Texas, Arizona and Florida, and one was reported in Georgia. In July, 12-year-old Sean Stayton died after
swimming in Falls Lake north of Raleigh, N.C. Family members said symptoms began with headache and fatigue, and progressed to hallucinations and
high-pitched screaming.
TULSA, Ok. - Two children died Friday after being infected with a rare parasite associated with swimming in stagnant water, health officials
said.
The boys, ages 9 and 7, did not know each other but were both believed to have been swimming in area ponds before contracting Naegleria, an amoeba
that enters the body through the nose and can cause a deadly inflammation of the brain.
Almost ever case seems to be fatal, and
what's the deal that it seems to kill mostly boys.
Edit: Bad bbcode, bad......
[edit on 19/9/2007 by anxietydisorder]
