6 die from brain-eating amoeba – Infectious Diseases – MSNBC.com Cipes, what next?
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.
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hmmmmmmmmmmmm
I think we should get all of our elected officials a nice vactions at these lakes…
This report is alarming, but note that in this report there was an indication of future incidents, especially as the temperatures rise. It seems like a dismal future for us all now that global temperatures are rising. Scientists have predicted that insects, such as those that feed on leaves will increase and we are already cutting down trees for excessive use. How can we cool down the planet if we are constantly hurting it?
Seriously, are there no people that have the power to stand up for what is right anymore? I see everyday people just carelessly walking about their lives, driving monstrosities for cars ALL THE WAY to Starbucks (about 3 miles usually). Once there, they slap down about $5 for a crappy coffeed and then toss their cups in the garbage, the same cups that have a picture of polar bears on them.
Really glad I don’t have kids in this day and age.
Its called the not in my backyard syndrome. This is the result of government schooling and media marketing. The people who would stand up are drowned out by the baaaaa’ing of the sheep.
Here is an example. We experienced a water shortage this summer. The city and water company asked people to not water their lawns until after 6pm. On the local evening news a reporter drove around and interviewed housewives with their sprinklers on before 6pm.
One 30-35 year old mother of two explained it this way. “Well, we pay a lot to live in this area because we like the schools and our children can grow up in a good clean neighborhood. If I don’t water my lawn the grass gets all stiff and dry and pokes my kids in the feet. It also scratches them if they tumble and roll around on grass. Since I pay to live here shouldn’t I get to use more water than in the inner-city where they don’t have grass? I mean it’s our water and we pay for it so I don’t think we are doing anything wrong.”
Now with that kind of mind set by supposable patriotic, god fearing, civic minded people, it is no wonder we elect greedy self-serving politicians. I guess for the last 30 years they have taught greed and humane indifference very well at university.
Brain eating amoeba… probably much more common than we realize… how else to account for the 27% of the population that thinks that the Bush administration is doing a good job at anything.
six cases?
six cases are enough to make news?
six cases are enough to make some viewers/readers/listeners scared of having their little brain eaten out by amoeba?
How many of those scared ppl are regular smokers?
How many drive cars?
Our ability to judge the statistical probabilities of scary things is so skewed. We tend to fear the most improbable things much more than the dangers we’ve got accustomed to. It is because it is so likely to die in a car accident that we don’t fear it. We could see one every day, if we were not actively avoiding seeing them.
Our governments use exactly the fact that most of us have no intuition of probability to scare us to death with an inflated terror thread in order to install systems they’ve always wanted to have but could never get because people preferred their freedom.
Now people are scared of dying from something that is not even in the top 10 of the most common non natural causes of death!
So think about it… six people… add some more for some might have died from brain-eating amoeba but not been diagnosed, so maybe it was 60 people. Still no scary number.
Let’s see how this evolves.
pj
ps: about two thirds of the rabbit population are infected with a “brain eating” single celluclar parasite called “Enzephalitozoon Cuniculi”. It’s actually an intra-cellular parasite that attacks the central nervous system and the kidneys. If not treated, an outbreak of this is always deadly.
Rabbits have still survived to this day.
So the chance is like 1 in 1,000,000,000 that it will happen to you… now I’m really worried… 😯
They’re just suppose to swim in the water, not snort it.
Brain eating amoeba – explains what happened to Algore in 2000…
Actually…. with the right conditions and other variables, Naegleria could become pretty deadly. I’ve done some extensive research on the bacteria because I have to do a speech on it.
BUT…. i do agree with the not in my backyard syndrome to an extent.