A Nevada boy paid for a swim with his life. As ABC News reports, the child died of a brain-eating amoeba, which he believed to have caught in Lake Mead. Naegleria fowleri first causes headache, fever, nausea, and seizures. Once symptoms appear, the disease progresses rapidly and is usually fatal within about five days.
The boy lived in Clark County, Nevada. Experts suspect he likely came into contact with the amoeba on the Lake Mead side of Arizona in October. “Once you’re infected, Naegleria fowleri is very difficult to treat,” says Darien Sutton, an emergency medicine physician in Los Angeles. Once the pathogen gets into the brain, it causes a form of meningitis. When patients show symptoms, it is usually too late.
Rare type of infection
The district health authority said of the tragic accident: “Our condolences go out to the family of this young man. And while that’s no comfort to loved ones, we want to reassure the public that this type of infection is extremely rare.”
However, experts fear that climate change could increase the risk of infection and life-threatening risks for swimmers. The pathogen multiplies faster in warmer waters than in cold ones.
Amoebas and mafia corpses in Lake Mead
In Lake Mead one can continue to bathe because the amoeba occurs naturally in the environment and rarely causes disease. Dr Maria Said, a U.S. public health officer with the National Park Service, warns, “Recreation water users should always assume that there is a risk when entering warm fresh water.”
Lake Mead near the casino metropolis of Las Vegas had already made headlines in May. However, not because of deadly amoebae – but exposed corpses. Due to the prolonged drought, several bodies were discovered in what is otherwise the largest water reservoir in the United States. Detectives assume that the dead are victims of the mafia. (lrc)