Brain-eating amoeba warning!!!

[ik9000]

Just when you thought life couldn't get more weird you get this: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-53302773

A case of a rare brain-eating amoeba has been confirmed in Florida, according to health officials in the US state.
Say what now? Yup you read that right.

The microscopic, single-celled amoeba can cause an infection of the brain, and is usually fatal.

well at least it's rare...

Commonly found in warm freshwater, the amoeba enters the body through the nose.
The DOH did not outline where the infection was contracted, or the patient's condition. The amoeba cannot be passed from person to person.
Infections are typically seen in southern US states. They are rare in Florida, where only 37 cases have been reported since 1962.

So it's not so rare and is common in southern states? This could explain a lot. I am also never swimming in the southern US states!!!

[ik9000]

oh it gets better! You can get it from the tap water too.

Between 2009 and 2018, only 34 infections were reported in the country. Of those cases, 30 people were infected by recreational water, three after performing nasal irrigation with contaminated tap water, and one person was infected by contaminated tap water used on a backyard slip-n-slide, the CDC said.

WTF is going on there? Have they not heard of chlorine? Or are they too busy washing their chickens with it to have enough to treat the water supply??? 30 out of 34 is an alarming percentage, even if that is low as a proportion of the population that is normal people doing normal things and getting a fatal disease as a result. THAT IS NOT OK!!!

[kalniel]

That's the last time I use tap water for my nasal irrigation. Wait what? I need to water my nose?!

[ik9000]

That's the last time I use tap water for my nasal irrigation. Wait what? I need to water my nose?!

when I worked in a bar before the smoking ban I would shower and try to rinse my nose. I got so fed up with the stink and it meant I could go to bed not smelling ash-tray.

[philehidiot]

when I worked in a bar before the smoking ban I would shower and try to rinse my nose. I got so fed up with the stink and it meant I could go to bed not smelling ash-tray.

I've done something similar when I had MRSA in open wounds which were head to toe. It was exceptionally fun washing in antiseptics but I also washed up my nose with very diluted chlorhexadine as it's one of the places MRSA lives and is a bugger to get rid. This particular bug was resistant to all but two main antibiotics which they were holding in reserve in case the infection got deeper, so iodine and chlorhexadine were the order of the day.

Fun times.

[ik9000]

I've done something similar when I had MRSA in open wounds

That can't have been fun! Hope you've got rid of it now. At least it wasn't a brain eating amoeba I guess!

[philehidiot]

That can't have been fun! Hope you've got rid of it now. At least it wasn't a brain eating amoeba I guess!

It was actually one of the less serious infections I've had. Probably the most painful to treat, but didn't require hospital admission.

It's a running joke that I nearly die of some simple infection every 18 months or so. I personally find it kinda funny, but the family take a different view... probably because they have to clean up the mess.

It is awful being a patient when your hospital has awful 4G signal.

A man can not live on magazines alone. He needs redtube and beer.

[ik9000]

It was actually one of the less serious infections I've had. Probably the most painful to treat, but didn't require hospital admission.

It's a running joke that I nearly die of some simple infection every 18 months or so. I personally find it kinda funny, but the family take a different view... probably because they have to clean up the mess.

It is awful being a patient when your hospital has awful 4G signal.

A man can not live on magazines alone. He needs redtube and beer.

redtube? I'm guessing that's a lager and not soviet youtube! You can't live on lager and beer, you need some pork scratchings too!

[kalniel]

redtube? I'm guessing that's a lager and not soviet youtube!

Don't google it. At work at least..

[ik9000]

Don't google it. At work at least..

Doesn't seem so bad.

So he's into his cycling. Fair enough. Though yeah, I guess no-one wants to see lycra shorts in the office. In real life or on screen for that matter.

[Xlucine]

Brain-eating amoebas are pretty common in nature:

[watercooled]

Not that it's something I've ever fancied doing myself but this is why there tend to be massive warnings on nasal irrigation kits to never just use tap water. Tap water is not sterile, and as I understand it, the chlorine levels typically used are not high enough to guarantee killing some things like this. You can't catch this from simply drinking the water though, it has to get far up your nose somehow.

Having said that, you'd think pools would be strongly chlorinated on a regular basis for this reason.

Also I wonder if, in areas where it's more commonly found in water sources, they could use UV/ozone sterilisation in addition to chlorination to destroy this without making the water undrinkable?

[philehidiot]

Not that it's something I've ever fancied doing myself but this is why there tend to be massive warnings on nasal irrigation kits to never just use tap water. Tap water is not sterile, and as I understand it, the chlorine levels typically used are not high enough to guarantee killing some things like this. You can't catch this from simply drinking the water though, it has to get far up your nose somehow.

Having said that, you'd think pools would be strongly chlorinated on a regular basis for this reason.

Also I wonder if, in areas where it's more commonly found in water sources, they could use UV/ozone sterilisation in addition to chlorination to destroy this without making the water undrinkable?

I have chlorine tabs but also a "lifestraw" which is simply a really cool filter. It'll take out pretty much everything except certain viruses. The filters are good for tens of thousands of litres and they do bigger models. I expect that kind of filtration would be the best way of dealing with the critters.

[ik9000]

I have chlorine tabs but also a "lifestraw" which is simply a really cool filter. It'll take out pretty much everything except certain viruses. The filters are good for tens of thousands of litres and they do bigger models. I expect that kind of filtration would be the best way of dealing with the critters.

i have one of those too. Great in the bush. By which I mean the proper wilderness overseas, not uk national parks.

[watercooled]

Some things don't scale up well in terms of cost. Chlorine, sodium hypochlorite etc tend to be very cheap which helps with their use on a large scale. Chlorine will absolutely kill amoeba but at some point concentration becomes problematic for drinking.

Ozone and UV on the other hand, are also extremely effective sterilising agents but don't stay in the water, which is partly why they're not as popular here because having something persistent in the water helps too, to prevent stuff growing in the pipes for instance.

[kalniel]

i have one of those too. Great in the bush. By which I mean the proper wilderness overseas, not uk national parks.

Tap water on the continent is much improved these days