A brain-eating amoeba took the life a teenager who went on a
church trip in Charlotte, North Carolina, health officials said Wednesday.
The 18-year-old Ohio woman died of primary amebic meningoencephalitis
on Sunday, a rare but fatal brain infection caused by the amoeba Naegleria
fowleri, said Mitzi Kline, director of communication for Franklin County Public
Health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the presence
of the amoeba in cerebral spinal fluid.
The amoeba is commonly found in warm freshwater and soil,
according to the CDC. It also grows in pipes but not salt water such as oceans.
The teen's "only known underwater exposure was believed
to be when riding in a raft with several others that overturned at the U.S.
National Whitewater Center in Charlotte," the North Carolina Department of
Health and Human Services said.
In response to the incident, the U.S. National Whitewater
Center said in a statement that it gets its water from the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities Department and two wells on its property,
adding that it disinfects all water with ultraviolet radiation and chlorine.
"The levels of UV radiation disinfection utilized every day, continuously,
at the Center are sufficient to 'inactivate' the water born amoeba in question
to an effective level of 99.99%," the statement said. Out of an abundance
of caution, it said it added more chlorine into its system when it learned of
this incident.
State and county health officials are working with the CDC
and the water park to investigate the death. CDC personnel are in North
Carolina and hope to take samples of the water as part of the investigation...
How to prevent Naegleria flowleri infections
To limit the risk of infection, North Carolina health
officials recommended the following precautions:
Limit the amount of water going up your nose. Hold your nose
shut, use nose clips or keep your head above water when taking part in warm
freshwater-related activities.
Avoid water-related activities in warm freshwater during
periods of high water temperature and low water levels.
Avoid digging in, or stirring up, the sediment while taking
part in water-related activities in shallow, warm freshwater areas.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/22/health/brain-eating-amoeba-killed-ohio-teenager/
No comments:
Post a Comment