# 113 Amoeba Slips In Nose, Eats Brain

Did you catch the article in The Chicago Tribune dated 9 / 29 / 2007, page 4, by Chris Kahn.It reads like this:Lake amoeba slips in nose, eats brain.
Deadly microbe rare, but cases on the rise.
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. Go to the Trib to read the article
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I wonder if this is a kissing cousin to what I had posted on my Razors Edge blog, post # 24, Sunday 5, 2004?
( what was posted )
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 05, 2004TROUBLES IN THE MAKING ! - Microbe Can Survive at 266 Degrees Microbe Can Survive at 266 Degrees Thu Aug 14, 2:01 PM ETAdd Science - AP to My Yahoo! By PAUL RECER, AP Science Writer WASHINGTON - Some may like it hot, but nothing likes it hotter than a weird microbe known as Strain 121. The one-celled organism, captured from a magma vent at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, can survive 266 degrees, a temperature no other known life form can tolerate.
Read the rest in post # 24 on Razors Edge.
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This new, but rare thing is named Naegleria fowleri .It has already killed 23 people in the United States, from 1995 to 2004. This year, it has already claimed six cases. Three in Florida, two in Texas, and one in Arizona. Mention is made that since the 1960's, there has been " only several hundred " cases worldwide. It was discovered first, in Australia.
Usually fatal within two weeks of becoming infected.
Mentioned also, is that some drugs have stopped the amoeba in lab experiments, but people who have been attacked rarely survive.
Naegleria lives almost everywhere: in lakes, hot springs, even dirty swimming pools, grazing off algae and bacteria in the sediment.
Not much is yet known, is why Naegleria, infects children mostly, and boys more than girls.
Symptoms are listed as: infected persons tend to complain of a stiff neck, headaches and fevers. In later stages, they'll show signs of brain damage such as hallucinations and behavioral changes.
Prevention methods were listed as: Avoid swimming in warm standing water, and to wear a nose clip, if you do.
Can only wonder if information posted on spices and other remedies, in posts # 4, # 5, # 6, # 7, and # 14, would be effective with this new life-threatening situation.
My condolences to the Evans family, of Lake Havasu City, Ariz, on the recent loss of their son, Aaron, to this rare microscopic organism.