johnnyray
Trail Wise!
Argle-Bargle, Jiggery-Pokery, and Applesauce
Posts: 2,050 
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Post by johnnyray on Jul 3, 2015 6:48:55 GMT -8
Be careful out there. bit.ly/1LI7foC "The amoeba moves to the brain along a nerve in the patient’s nose then wiggles through a bony plate in the skull called the cribiform plate." Good grief. |
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Roger
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Posts: 200
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Post by Roger on Jul 4, 2015 9:11:49 GMT -8
The amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, is found in the sediment of lakes and springs. The amoeba increase in number in warm/hot water and you become infected when you inhale them. The infections is called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). While most case have been associated with fresh water there has been at least one case associated with public water supply but that is very unusual. It is a very nasty infection killing ~ 97% of those diagnosed with PAM. The one good thing is PAM is not very common with only a few cases reported each year during the summer. In Florida case have been associated with activity that forces water up one's nose such as waterskiing. With the global increase in temperature we may be seeing an increase in the number of cases of PAM.  |
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BigLoad
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Pancakes!
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Post by BigLoad on Jul 4, 2015 12:38:13 GMT -8
There have been Naegleria infections from hot springs along the Gila River. I plan to never dunk my head in any such spring, or let the water get anywhere my nose or mouth.
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johnnyray
Trail Wise!
Argle-Bargle, Jiggery-Pokery, and Applesauce
Posts: 2,050
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Post by johnnyray on Jul 4, 2015 17:59:48 GMT -8
I was wondering because there are hot springs near Bishop.
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BigLoad
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Pancakes!
Posts: 12,911
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Post by BigLoad on Jul 6, 2015 5:53:59 GMT -8
Hard to assess something that has a minuscule chance of occurrence -- but devastating impact. The chance of occurrence isn't uniformly miniscule, though. It's much higher in certain bodies of water, especially warm ones. Where the risk is elevated, the appropriate body (NPS, USFS, BLM) usually has warnings on its web site, relevant trailheads, etc. |
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BigLoad
Trail Wise!
Pancakes!
Posts: 12,911
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Post by BigLoad on Jul 23, 2015 14:30:21 GMT -8
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Post by bikehikefish on Jul 24, 2015 6:19:12 GMT -8
I would avoid water with known contamination, but I am not going to avoid water in general. I have done triathlons with the swim portion in some gawd-awfull places - a golf course lake, city lakes, and other places. I am not going to say it can't happen to me because it has not happened in the past, but when you consider the number of participants in these events and the number of events held every year, without brain eating stuff being reported, the risk seems very low.
But the risk of e-coli, crypto, etc, is more of a concern, and there are issues periodically.
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