Amoeba eats brain of swimmers!

September 28th, 2007 by ron

Oh my gosh! An LA Times article describes a lake Amoeba that enters the body through the nose and eats the brain until death! Sound like the plot for a B-rated horror movie? I did a little more research and checked out both Wikipedia and the CDC’s website. And it’s true ! Naegleria fowleri is found worldwide in warm lakes/rivers. Cases are very rare as only 23 infections were documented in the U.S. between 1995 and 2004. The prevention? Nose plugs.