Swim at Havasu? Think again.

doughnut · Oct-08-2007, 11:48 AM

6 die from brain-eating amoeba in lakes - Yahoo! News

I thought this story was an urban legend, guess not.

**Mikey** · Oct-08-2007, 12:10 PM

It's not just Havasu, it's everywhere!

Except the ocean, just watch out for those big sharks, better not swim anymore :p

**nunyabizness1** · Oct-08-2007, 12:11 PM

Unfortunately this is very real and is expected to increase with global warming. One of my friend's nephew died this summer from this same thing. He was swimming in a lake in Texas at a summer camp and then started complaining of headaches. He slipped into a coma and was pronounced brain dead and then died within a week. This happened so fast the family had no idea what happened. Stay out of the warm, stale waters where this grows! To top it all off, the family's house was broken into and robbed during the funeral. I guess the notice in the local paper alerted robbers when the family would not be home. What a tragic loss losing this boy at such a young age.

**Mikey** · Oct-08-2007, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nunyabizness1

To top it all off, the family's house was broken into and robbed during the funeral.

That is soooo fucked up!

makes me want to set these fuckers up...... Grrrrrrrrr

umoa · Oct-08-2007, 05:55 PM

crap didn't know it was this bad.

Blackfish · Oct-09-2007, 09:36 AM

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.

30 people killed in 12 years....and several hundred world wide since its discovery in Australia in the 60's....so less ten 500 deaths out of 5 billion people....

the sky is falling, the sky is falling...its global warming.....

More people die crossing the street, more people are killed in school shooting, more people die from the flu each year....

Mad cow, Bird Flu,...all media hype to scare the crap out of you....

Sure it's a terrible disease, and people have died from it....but sounds like an overreaction to me..

One Havasu official considered closing the lake (do you think that just may put the entire city out of business)...how many people died in Havasu last year from drowning, or boat accidents.....??? More then 1?

I bet they're other organisms in the lake that can make you sick or even kill you. You are more likely to get run over by a baot in LH then die from this brain eating amoeba.

Chicken Little is alive and well.

@-EZ · Oct-09-2007, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackfish

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.

30 people killed in 12 years....and several hundred world wide since its discovery in Australia in the 60's....so less ten 500 deaths out of 5 billion people....

the sky is falling, the sky is falling...its global warming.....

More people die crossing the street, more people are killed in school shooting, more people die from the flu each year....

Mad cow, Bird Flu,...all media hype to scare the crap out of you....

Sure it's a terrible disease, and people have died from it....but sounds like an overreaction to me..

One Havasu official considered closing the lake (do you think that just may put the entire city out of business)...how many people died in Havasu last year from drowning, or boat accidents.....??? More then 1?

I bet they're other organisms in the lake that can make you sick or even kill you. You are more likely to get run over by a baot in LH then die from this brain eating amoeba.

Chicken Little is alive and well.

Very well put.

**nunyabizness1** · Oct-09-2007, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackfish

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.

30 people killed in 12 years....and several hundred world wide since its discovery in Australia in the 60's....so less ten 500 deaths out of 5 billion people....

the sky is falling, the sky is falling...its global warming.....

More people die crossing the street, more people are killed in school shooting, more people die from the flu each year....

Mad cow, Bird Flu,...all media hype to scare the crap out of you....

Sure it's a terrible disease, and people have died from it....but sounds like an overreaction to me..

One Havasu official considered closing the lake (do you think that just may put the entire city out of business)...how many people died in Havasu last year from drowning, or boat accidents.....??? More then 1?

I bet they're other organisms in the lake that can make you sick or even kill you. You are more likely to get run over by a baot in LH then die from this brain eating amoeba.

Chicken Little is alive and well.

I would much rather hear about this and be warned that this exists whether it's 7 people, 100 people or even one person. If someone hadn't told me about it, I might have allowed my kids in a dangerous condition too. I'd rather be cautious than stupid. Do they need to close the lake? For swimming, I believe yes as long as this is present, there is no cure for it other than avoidance of the water in the nostril. Go talk to my friend's family to see what they would say about the loss of their boy. Happened so fast and could have been avoided. Yes people are killed crossing the street and drowning but why submit yourself to something so obvious? Warm water is causing this organism to grow. Call it warm water then if you don't want to call it global warming. Just know that it's out there instead of sticking your head in the sand. If people weren't notified of this out there, then they'd be suing for not being told. This is not a matter of chicken little running around, it's a mtter of life and death. These families that lost a member would surely wish they had known in advance too. I love my kids too much to not pay attention to something so simple. Rant off...

Kurt · Oct-09-2007, 11:29 AM

And Santee Lake is building a water park

Blackfish · Oct-09-2007, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nunyabizness1

I would much rather hear about this and be warned that this exists whether it's 7 people, 100 people or even one person. If someone hadn't told me about it, I might have allowed my kids in a dangerous condition too. I'd rather be cautious than stupid. Do they need to close the lake? For swimming, I believe yes as long as this is present, there is no cure for it other than avoidance of the water in the nostril. Go talk to my friend's family to see what they would say about the loss of their boy. Happened so fast and could have been avoided. Yes people are killed crossing the street and drowning but why submit yourself to something so obvious? Warm water is causing this organism to grow. Call it warm water then if you don't want to call it global warming. Just know that it's out there instead of sticking your head in the sand. If people weren't notified of this out there, then they'd be suing for not being told. This is not a matter of chicken little running around, it's a mtter of life and death. These families that lost a member would surely wish they had known in advance too. I love my kids too much to not pay attention to something so simple. Rant off...

I am not saying that the public should not be "informed". We should be "informed", but lets keep it in prospective. This is not an epidemic, this a rare and infrequent occurrence. More people die from mosquitoes bites...are you going to keep your kids indoors when the sun goes down. Are you going to keep your kids from playing in the woods or fields and hillsides because of Limes Disease...No, of course your not, because you are informed, and understand the risks, and the risks are so low you don't even give it a second thought.

We are informed that that sharks swim in our oceans, jelly fish float along our shores, run off pollutes our beaches, and chemicals are found in the fish we eat....but by being informed, we can make a choice for ourselves, and evaluate the risk. After all, the risks of being eaten by a shark, stung to death by a jellyfish, or getting deathly ill from swimming in the ocean are very slim compared to the number of people who use our oceans.

The same applies for lake Havasu...the odds that you could be affected by this amoeba are astronomical.....the odds of you ingesting intestinal parasites are much higher.....the odds of you eating contaminated food are much higher...

Lets just keep in prospective.

Yes you, as a parent have the right to allow or not allow your kids to swim in Lake Havasu...fine. I just think its an over reactiond....you and your kids face much greater risks everyday of their life. To allow something like this to alter your life style or pleasure is silly. IMO

I understand this is a little more personal for you, as you stated you know someone who lost their child to this "disease". I ask you this, do you think your friends would have altered their vacation plans if they would have know about this before hand? Do you think they would have felt the risk was to high? I only ask this because I truly believe that the typical person would have weighed the risks, and found them to to low to be of concern. Would they let them swim in the ocean....I bet yes, they understand the risks...People are not nearly as afraid of something when they are informed and understand the risks.

To blame this on global warming is ridiculous. Lake Havasu for the most part is a shallow lake, and has many shallow inlets and coves, and high spots....and during the summer, the ambient air temp is always over a hundred...of course the shallow areas are going to be warmer then normal...but then again, Lake Havasu is also a warm lake during the summer....slow moving warm water tends to breed more bacteria and microscopic life then colder water would....

Closing the lake would be just ridiculous. Emotional reaction over "informed" and educated reaction. The economic impact alone would would disastrous.....luckily, not all city officials respond emotionally.

As a parent I can understand, and can appreciate your concern....but your reaction is typical of today's society.....that people are to stupid to know what is best for them selves, or that they need the government to protect them...so instead of thinking and analyzing, they over react, and attack a with a fire hose, when a squirt gun could have done the job.

No rant here...just my two cents. Piece

dru · Oct-09-2007, 10:18 PM

I think the point is to just be aware of the situation and make logical decisions.

If you read the story, the infections occur when someone jumps aggressively into the water and gets water up the nose, or another place. That's why kids have fallen to this tradegy, b/c they bomb around all day long jumpin in the H2O.

Very tragic. Lets be aware and move on....

lokegirl48 · Oct-09-2007, 11:48 PM

You can be cavalier about these things but if you see it taking a life (your child) right in front of you maybe you would see things a little different. Definately more testing should ensue to be sure it's a fluke and not on the rise. Also, I think there is an ointment you can put in your nostrils to avoid MRSA, maybe it will work for this too since the nose is the path of introduction. Ask your doctor, couldn't hurt.
And yea Maggie, you are correct to be able to make informed decisions as to where you and your kids are safe to recreate. Children are always more susceptible to these things.