News / Health & Wellness
Deadly Naegleria in Florida lakes, claims three lives
Naegleria Fowleri lives in warm, fresh water and enters the body through the nasal passage. People infected with the amoeba suffer from flu-like symptoms which worsen within one to 14 days. “There’s a downhill course. Folks lapse into a coma, there are abnormal movements of the eyes and a terrible cascade of events leading to the actual death of parts of the brain,” said Orange County Health Department director Dr. Kevin Sherin.
If caught early on, the amoeba can be treated with antibiotics. “This is a heat loving amoeba. As water temperatures go up, it does better. In future decades, as temperatures rise, we’d expect to see more cases,” said a specialist in water-borne illness, Michael Beach.
Cases of the amoeba have been very rare, but there has been a spike in the number of cases over the summer. Many health officials have advised communities to stay away from warm, standing water.
Officials are advising anyone who has been in a lake recently and has flu-like symptoms to go to a doctor immediately.
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