IMPORTANT !!! READ BELOW ABOUT - Brain-Eating Amoeba A 12-year-old girl is in critical condition at Arkansas Children’s Hospital after contracting a deadly brain-eating parasite. A rare form of meningitis caused by the amoeba Naegleria fowleri. Naegleria thrives in warm, standing freshwater and the sediment of rivers and lakes. And while it’s usually harmless, it can cause fatal brain swelling if inhaled through the nose. Early symptoms include a severe frontal headache, fever, nausea and vomiting, according to the CDC. But those can swiftly give way to a stiff neck, seizures, confusion and hallucinations as the amoeba makes its way up through the nasal cavity into the brain. “People should seek medical care immediately whenever they develop a sudden onset of fever, headache, stiff neck, and vomiting, particularly if they have been in warm freshwater recently,” according to the CDC. “If concerned about Naegleria, avoid swimming, diving or other activities that push water up the nose, especially in natural waters when temperatures are high and water levels are low,” Dr. Dirk Haselow of the Arkansas Department of Health said in a statement. While exceedingly rare, Naegleria fowleri infections are almost always fatal. Only one person out of 128 infected in the United States between 1962 and 2012 has survived, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “After the start of symptoms, the disease progresses rapidly and usually causes death within about five days,” the agency’s website reads.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Jul 2013 23:56:22 +0000
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