It sounds like science fiction, but it's true: Killer amoebas living in lakes can enter the body through the nose and attack the brain, where they feed until you die.
Though encounters with the microscopic bug are extraordinarily rare, it is known to have killed six boys and young men in the United States this year; over the decade ending in 2004, the yearly average was 2.3.
The jump in cases has health officials concerned.
Someone once brought me a clay masque from New Zealand and said that she'd gone to the hot springs it came from but you coudn't put your head underwater because of this same amoeba (yeah, that makes you want to use a product from there, doesn't it?) I had no idea they lived in the US--mostly the South--as well. I've swum in one lake in my life. I don't think I'll be returning to the water any time soon--just give me a pool. I don't want my brain eaten by amoebas, even if it is really, really rare.
That's up there with the faceless man who was infected by a fungus, who in order to save him they had to remove his eyes and most of his nasal area. (Don't watch this if you're squeamish. Just imagine living without a face. And although it's extremely rare, you never know when that statistic will be you.) YKWIA showed me this on months ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment