Published Date: 1998-08-08 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/EDR> Amebic meningoencephalitis, primary - USA (Florida)
Archive Number: 19980808.1557
AMEBIC MENINGOENCEPHALITIS, PRIMARY - USA (FLORIDA)
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See Also
Amebic meningoencephalitis, primary - USA (Texas) 980722203754Amebic meningoencephalitis, primary - USA(Texas)(02) 980806204053
Amebic meningoencephalitis, primary - USA(Texas)(03) not yet archived
Date: Sat, 8 Aug 1998 16:53:38 -0500
Source: Media sources, 8 Aug 98, edited
Via: Martin Hugh-Jones <mehj2020@vt8200.vetmed.lsu.edu>
A fourteen year-old boy died Friday at Florida Hospital of amebic
meningoencephalitis due to _Naegleria fowleri_. Although he contracted the
infection while swimming with friends in an old drainage canal in Orange
County on July 26, no one else was infected.
"We don't know why some people are affected and some aren't," said county
epidemiologist Bill Toth. The disease usually is fatal, Toth said. The boy
was treated unsuccessfully with antibiotics and anti-viral medicines.
According to the Orange County Health Department, there is about one case
of the disease -- amebic meningoencephalitis -- for every 2.5 million hours
people spend in fresh water in Florida. Orange County records show four
deaths from the disease since 1963. The last case was 15 years ago when two
sisters were jumping from a dock into a lake. One was killed. The other was
never sick. They advise that the disease can be prevented by wearing nose
clips when water skiing, swimming near the bottom or jumping into water.
The amoeba also is killed by chlorine.
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