Why it has and always will be better to be dirt peeps v. river people

[Kid A]

crazy and very sad stuff. be advised


PHOENIX - It sounds like science fiction but it's true: A killer amoeba living in lakes enters the body through the nose and attacks the brain where it feeds until you die.

Even though encounters with the microscopic bug are extraordinarily rare, it's killed six boys and young men this year. The spike in cases has health officials concerned, and they are predicting more cases in the future.

"This is definitely something we need to track," said Michael Beach, a specialist in recreational waterborne illnesses for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"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."

According to the CDC, the amoeba called Naegleria fowleri (nuh-GLEER-ee-uh FOWL'-erh-eye) killed 23 people in the United States, from 1995 to 2004. This year health officials noticed a spike with six cases - three in Florida, two in Texas and one in Arizona. The CDC knows of only several hundred cases worldwide since its discovery in Australia in the 1960s.

In Arizona, David Evans said nobody knew his son, Aaron, was infected with the amoeba until after the 14-year-old died on Sept. 17. At first, the teen seemed to be suffering from nothing more than a headache.

"We didn't know," Evans said. "And here I am: I come home and I'm burying him."

After doing more tests, doctors said Aaron probably picked up the amoeba a week before while swimming in the balmy shallows of Lake Havasu, a popular man-made lake on the Colorado River between Arizona and California.

Though infections tend to be found in southern states, Naegleria lives almost everywhere in lakes, hot springs, even dirty swimming pools, 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 somersault in chest-deep water - the amoeba can latch onto the olfactory nerve.

The amoeba destroys tissue as it makes its way up into the brain, where it continues the damage, "basically feeding on the brain cells," Beach said.

People who are infected tend to complain of a stiff neck, headaches and fevers. In the later stages, they'll show signs of brain damage such as hallucinations and behavioral changes, he said.

Once infected, most people have little chance of survival. Some drugs have stopped 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," he said.

Researchers still have much to learn about Naegleria. They don't know why, for example, children are more likely to be infected, and boys are more often victims than girls.

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

In central Florida, authorities started an amoeba phone hot line advising people to avoid warm, standing water and areas with algae blooms. Texas health officials also have issued warnings.

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.

Officials in the town of Lake Havasu City are discussing whether to take action. "Some folks think we should be putting up signs. Some people think we should close the lake," city spokesman Charlie Cassens said.

Beach cautioned that people shouldn't panic about the dangers of the brain-eating bug. Cases are still extremely rare considering the number of people swimming in lakes. The easiest way to prevent infection, Beach said, is to use nose clips 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.

David Evans has tried to learn as much as possible about the amoeba over the past month. But it still doesn't make much sense to him. His family had gone to Lake Havasu countless times. Have people always been in danger? Did city officials know about the amoeba? Can they do anything to kill them off?

Evans lives within eyesight of the lake. Temperatures hover in the triple digits all summer, and like almost everyone else in this desert region, the Evanses look to the lake to cool off.

It was on David Evans' birthday Sept. 8 that he brought Aaron, his other two children, and his parents to Lake Havasu. They ate sandwiches and spent a few hours splashing around.

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

Then Aaron got the headache that wouldn't go away. At the hospital, doctors first suspected meningitis. Aaron was rushed to another hospital in Las Vegas.

"He asked me at one time, 'Can I die from this?'" David Evans said. "We said, 'No, no.'"

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

"He was brain dead," Evans said. Only later did doctors and the CDC determine that the boy had been infected with Naegleria.

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

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By CHRIS KAHN Associated Press Writer

[spookydave]

just keep in mind you're drinking that water.

[ghixon]

Oh great! I WAS going to Havasu next weekend....

[Flat Broke]

Well, as long as we don't drink it through our nose, I guess we're okay In all seriousness, I can't fathom loosing my child or any loved one to something so random and nearly impossible for the average ER doc or general practitioner to diagnose.

As far as not going to the lake, just don't hang out in the channel, and if you do, don't snort the water. If you like to hang in the coves and stuff down on the south end of the lake, stay in the deeper water and don't disturb the sand on the bottom. With only "several hundred cases" diagnosed since the 60s, I'd say the odds are in your favor.

As far as better to be "river people" or "dirt people", almost all the "river people" people I know are also "dirt people".

Chris

[Kid A]

Originally Posted by Flat Broke

As far as better to be "river people" or "dirt people", almost all the "river people" people I know are also "dirt people".

Chris

it's called evolution j/k Chris u been riding lately? We still need to hook up

[stinkyrider]

He's certainly not the first person to catch a disease after a weekend at Lake Havasu (AKA Hava-screw).

[OTHRIDER]

As far as better to be "river people" or "dirt people", almost all the "river people" people I know are also "dirt people".

Ditto that - we've been Parker bound for over twenty years. Summer for the boats and winter for the Jeeps and bikes.

Regarding Dirt People - I know of three dirt people who've contracted Valley Fever during bike / buggy rides. None died, but two almost bought the farm. Nasty stuff.

[Flat Broke]

I've got 2.5 more weeks in my cast/brace deal on my wrist before I go back to the doc's for an eval. I've been getting out on the bike path with my daugther in the trailer, but all that really does for me is give me a sore ass an a severe case of boredome. A straight hour on pavement is waaaay more boring than I figgured it would be.

I can't really grip the bars with the left hand so dirt etc. is pretty much out of the question. The worst part about towing the kiddie trailer is this anoying squeak that I can't figgure out. Last time I was out it was so bad I almost pulled my daughter out and tossed the deal in the San Gabriel River. At least I'm out spinning wheels and working on the weakest part of my game, but I'd trade a year on pavement for a weekend at Mammoth.

Chris

Originally Posted by Kid A

it's called evolution j/k Chris u been riding lately? We still need to hook up

[Kid A]

wow . was unaware of injury. that sux. feel your physical and mental pain bro.if any interest we're doing a kids ride on oct 6th (check str calendar) all ages of kids. some that rip and some being pulled in trailer (incl. me on stinky pulling my son in trailer) dirt and paved. should be fun.if not healing vibes and we'l hook up soon

[jcampbell]

Originally Posted by OTHRIDER

As far as better to be "river people" or "dirt people", almost all the "river people" people I know are also "dirt people".

Ditto that - we've been Parker bound for over twenty years. Summer for the boats and winter for the Jeeps and bikes.

Regarding Dirt People - I know of three dirt people who've contracted Valley Fever during bike / buggy rides. None died, but two almost bought the farm. Nasty stuff.

Been there... I almost bit the farm myself when I was 21. Except I got it when I was in Parker AZ. My brother and I bought a membership at Emerald Cove. I want to say I had a three week stay in the hospital (23 total days.. September 4th through the October 2nd, spent a week at home).

F-that &^$5.

Regarding this story, it came through my inbox yesterday and I was wondering the truth. Sad story. I am at the river or Havasu almost every other weekend during the summer.

[Pain Freak]

Originally Posted by spookydave

just keep in mind you're drinking that water.

I recently read where SoCal is getting 85% of it's drinking water now from NorCal. 12% from wells and only 3% from the Colorado, but we do purchase a lot for agriculture, just not for drinking.