How to Avoid the Brain-Eating Amoeba

There are always precautions to be taken when swimming in any body of water.

Naegleria fowleri is a free-living amoeba found in warm freshwater. If it finds its way up a swimmer's nose and reaches the brain -- a very rare occurrence -- death typically follows. Between 2001 and 2010, there were 32 reported infections in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. The danger is not limited to a particular lake, but to a set of circumstances that can be avoided.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. Avoid warm, shallow and stagnate waters, especially when the water temperature is 80 degrees F or more. Don't let your children swim in back coves during the heat of summer.

2. Don't dunk your head in water. The only way the amoeba is a threat is if it gets to your brain, via your nose. While it may not be possible to keep your head out of the water at all times, keep it out of the water if you are cooling off in a back cove.

3. Resist the temptation to splash. Splashing is fun in the summer, just like a snowball fight in the winter, but if the water is over 80 degrees, and the water is stagnate, don't splash. If that water gets up someone's nose, it can be deadly.

4. Do not dive in warm waters during the heat of summer. The amoeba grows and thrives in warm waters, but it must be propelled up the nose - violently - such as when diving into the water or violently splashing.

5. Ski and tube in the middle of the lake or river during the heat of summer. While it is tempting to ski through the calm waters of the back coves, if the skier falls in the stagnate warm waters, and the amoeba is present, it can be propelled up the nose.

6. Appreciate the fact that the threat can occur in all warm waters, including hot springs, ponds, rivers and a some swimming pools. But don't panic, just use common sense.

References

• Centers for Disease Control & Prevention: Naegleria FAQs
• WebMD; Brain-Eating Amoeba Strikes in Summer; Daniel J. DeNoon