The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has seen a spike in cases of death from the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri.
Is Global Warming causing the killer to become more active?
The amoeba has killed 23 people in the United States, from 1995-2004. However, this year, a spike of 6 cases has occurred.
The amoeba is "heat-loving amoeba. As water temperatures go
up, it does better. In future decades, as temperatures rise, we'd expect to see more cases."Uh, oh.
The six cases this year were - three in FL, two in TX and one in
AZ. (note to self, all these places are already hot).
Naegleria can live almost anywhere:
1. in lakes,
2. hot springs,
3. dirty swimming pools
by grazing off algae and bacteria in the sediment.
People can also become infected when they wade through shallow water and stir up the bottom" says the AP report.
Doing a somersault in chest-deep water — the amoeba can latch onto the olfactory nerve. (Note to self, stop swimming anywhere except my bathtub.)
Once you get it, the chances of survival are slim.
The easiest way to prevent infection is to use nose clips when swimming, diving in fresh water, or taking a shower in a dirty apartment.
Or...to start getting serious about saving the ozone layer so it will stop getting hotter and the bug will not flourish any more....blah, blah, blah....
For those in need of another reason to ride the Global Warming wave....Brain-eating Amoeba sounds like as good as any.
Do you think we will see more nasty bugs coming out in the future?
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I have a blog containing good information on global warming. Ozone has doubled since the mid-19th century due to chemical emissions from vehicles, industrial processes and the burning of forests, the British climate researchers wrote. Carbon dioxide has also risen over that period. History of global warming is very deep since 1850.
Posted by: Tarun | September 29, 2007 6:25 AM | Permalink to Comment