Saturday, September 29, 2007

6 die from brain-eating amoeba in lakes


Pictorial depiction of amoeba.
Not the one in question.

OMFG!!!1!!

Remember you heard it here first or second. I have no idea what you're reading. National Enquirer?* I won't tell. Trust me.
It sounds like science fiction but it's true: A killer amoeba living in lakes enters the body through the nose and attacks the brain where it feeds until you die.

Even though encounters with the microscopic bug are extraordinarily rare, it's killed six boys and young men this year. The spike in cases has health officials concerned, and they are predicting more cases in the future.

"This is definitely something we need to track," said Michael Beach, a specialist in recreational waterborne illnesses for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"This is a heat-loving amoeba. As water temperatures go up, it does better," Beach said. "In future decades, as temperatures rise, we'd expect to see more cases."

This may turn out to be an urban legend, but, hey, I got it from Yahoo! It must be true.

*To give the National Enquirer its due, they've been known to be first with the truth. I think they're count is up to 2-3 now.

Via Yahoo! News.

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