"Brain eating amoeba" found in Yellowstone waters and Lake Mead

[Glenn MacGrady]

"Scientists were looking for the presence of Naegleria fowleri, a type of amoeba that is the main cause of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). The condition has a fatality rate of 98%. Essentially, when a person goes swimming, the amoeba can enter the brain through the nose. It then causes brain swelling and the destruction of brain tissue. Death normally occurs within 1 to 7 days of infection."

3 National Park Sites Test Positive for 'Brain-Eating Amoeba' in Water

A new study shows potentially dangerous concentrations of Naegleria fowleri, a 'brain-eating amoeba' in three NPS-managed areas.

gearjunkie.com

"In Yellowstone, it was present at Firehole River, Boiling River, and Lewis Lake hot springs."

I've paddled the Lewis River in Yellowstone in 2004, so this now seems more than a theoretical risk. But I didn't swim.

 

[ppine]

thanks for the alert.
blue green algae seems to be more common all of the time. It kills a lot of dogs.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Much activity around here is scheduled around the expected appearance of bg algae.

Previous reports have stated that the brain eating amoeba is found primarily in warm waters. I wonder if the geothermal contributions to Yellowstone waters are in play here.

 

[Mason]

That explains a lot. I used to go to Polecat Creek in the 90s. It was probably worth it though: she was cute. But alas, I have neither her nor probably a lot of brain cells now.

 

[tketcham]

The warm water factor is probably something to pay more attention to these days. Back around 1981 I was with two friends aiming to climb Glacier Peak in Washington state. We got a late start and got into our "base camp" at Kennedy Hot Springs well after dark. It started raining that night and kept on raining most of the next day. We opted to wait until the following day to climb so two of us decided to hang out in Kennedy Hot Springs for the day. Temperature was about 100F, which seemed perfect on a cold, rainy day. But on the way home after our climb I developed a nasty headache, which is rare for me; I just don't get headaches. I was also developing a fever. My girlfriend was really worried and got our neighbor, a nurse, to check on me. My temperature was over 104F and she was going to take me to the hospital. But the headache disappeared as quickly as it started and my fever broke, getting back to under 100F the next morning. Weird. It was probably a bacterial infection and I didn't hang out in hot springs after that. Now I'm even less likely to get into any warm water.