Naegleria fowleri , aka Brain Eating Amoeba

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
User avatar
OutaSync
Posts: 2048
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:49 am
Location: Virginia

Re: Naegleria fowleri , aka Brain Eating Amoeba

Post by OutaSync » Mon Aug 22, 2011 12:55 pm

Yes, it does seem like a remote possibility, until it happens to someone that you know. Here is my question. At his request, the family donated his organs. How can the doctors be so sure that the amoeba that destroyed his brain is not floating around in his body and being transferred in his donated organs?

From what I understand, they went back to the pond where the boy fished and since there have been heavy rains in the area they could not find any amoeba. So the pond has been cleared as safe for children to swim in.

_________________
Mask: Mirage™ SoftGel Nasal CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments:  3M MediporeTape, Respironics Premium chinstrap, CMS 60D Oximeter
Diagnosed 9/4/07
Sleep Study Titrated to 19 cm H2O
Rotating between Activa and Softgel
11/2/07 RemStar M Series Auto with AFlex 14-17
10/17/08 BiPAP Auto SV 13/13-23, BPM Auto, AHI avg <1

User avatar
sleepysmurf
Posts: 21
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2011 4:24 am

Re: Naegleria fowleri , aka Brain Eating Amoeba

Post by sleepysmurf » Tue Aug 23, 2011 7:12 pm

chunkyfrog wrote:In Louisiana, I would only drink the beer.
Preferably from a tap.....Snobbish I know -lol!

hshields

Re: Naegleria fowleri , aka Brain Eating Amoeba

Post by hshields » Fri Sep 02, 2011 10:48 am

In August 2011, the brain eating parasite Naegleria fowleri (N. fowleri), killed two teenagers and a child in Virginia, Florida and Louisiana.

Naegleria fowleri, is a brain eating amoeba which is found in sewage and sewage sludge biosolids. (Bose, Ghosh, 1990; DeJonkheere, 1977; Visvesvara, et al 1990; Thomas Sawyer, 1989; Singh & Das 1972; US EPA, 2003; CDC; Joel Griffin, 2007, etc.)



This protozoa infests soils, thermal waters and sediments in warm shallow waters which are subject to runoff from land applied sewage and sewage sludge biosolids. Victims inhale the parasite up their nose where it travels to their brain and kills them.

Per CDC, between 2001 and 2010 there were 32 deaths in the US from N. fowleri. 46 percent of Florida Lakes were found to contain N. fowleri. Between 1983 and 2010, Texas reports 28 N. fowleri deaths.

There were seven victims in summer 2007, all young males between the ages of 10 and 22

CDC reported 23 cases of the condition between 1995 and 2004.




The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acknowledge many cases of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAN) – caused by Naegleria Fowleri-- have been misdiagnosed as meningitis, pneumonia, bacteremia, various encephalitis infections, etc. A spinal tap and autopsy are essential for accurate diagnosis.

Brain infections take many young lives each year. How many misdiagnosed victims of brain infections have actually died from inhaling the
the brain eating amoeba N. fowleri in sewage sludge biosolids runoff to warm, shallow surface waters ? Why don't the US EPA and CDC warn the public of this health risk from exposure to sewage and sewage sludge biosolids runoff to surface waters ?

Helane Shields, Alton, NH

moresleep
Posts: 371
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2011 12:14 am

Re: Naegleria fowleri , aka Brain Eating Amoeba

Post by moresleep » Fri Sep 02, 2011 3:30 pm

hshields wrote:
. . .

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acknowledge many cases of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAN) – caused by Naegleria Fowleri-- have been misdiagnosed as meningitis, pneumonia, bacteremia, various encephalitis infections, etc. A spinal tap and autopsy are essential for accurate diagnosis.

Brain infections take many young lives each year. How many misdiagnosed victims of brain infections have actually died from inhaling the
the brain eating amoeba N. fowleri in sewage sludge biosolids runoff to warm, shallow surface waters ? Why don't the US EPA and CDC warn the public of this health risk from exposure to sewage and sewage sludge biosolids runoff to surface waters ?

Helane Shields, Alton, NH

Exactly, we really don't know that we have the true numbers. This "remote" threat may not be that remote a threat at all.

newname
Posts: 391
Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 5:00 pm

Re: Naegleria fowleri , aka Brain Eating Amoeba

Post by newname » Fri Sep 02, 2011 3:51 pm

So are we supposed to boil our distilled water too?
What about washing everything in tap water with vinegar before filling it with distilled water? Would the vinegar kill amoeba? If not, does this make using distilled water a waste of time because the germs get in the equipment when you wash them with tap water?
Should the equipment be washed with distilled water?

_________________
MaskHumidifier
Additional Comments: sleepyhead software

moresleep
Posts: 371
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2011 12:14 am

Re: Naegleria fowleri , aka Brain Eating Amoeba

Post by moresleep » Fri Sep 02, 2011 4:25 pm

As someone pointed out, the amoeba would probably starve to death in distilled water, even if it infiltrated, somehow. So, using distilled water in humifiers and for sinus rinses is a good idea. As for how to wash hoses, etc., making sure you dry them throughly when you do wash them is probably the practical solution--being dried out probably kills the amoeba. I don't wash my equipment very often these days (found it really didn't make a difference in terms of infection for me) but use an old manual CPAP to blow air through the hose until dry, when I do (I don't want to screw up the data for my current machine).

User avatar
archangle
Posts: 9294
Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2011 11:55 am

Re: Naegleria fowleri , aka Brain Eating Amoeba

Post by archangle » Fri Sep 02, 2011 4:54 pm

It's a tragedy that in the USA, there are very few autopsies done these days in cases of deaths from unclear causes.

Most coroners are political hacks, not good doctors.

_________________
Mask: Swift™ FX Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Humidifier: S9™ Series H5i™ Heated Humidifier with Climate Control
Additional Comments: Also SleepyHead, PRS1 Auto, Respironics Auto M series, Legacy Auto, and Legacy Plus
Please enter your equipment in your profile so we can help you.
Click here for information on the most common alternative to CPAP.
If it's midnight and a DME tells you it's dark outside, go and check for yourself.

Useful Links.

purple
Posts: 837
Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2009 9:06 pm

Re: Naegleria fowleri , aka Brain Eating Amoeba

Post by purple » Fri Sep 02, 2011 8:35 pm

The other day I was browsing a apnea manufacturers website and saw their opinion of humidifiers, virus, and bacteria and its ability to transmit to an apnea machine user. They said it could not happen. While I would not use sewage water in my humidifier, tap water in the humidifier is, by them very safe. However it may leave a residue in the humidifier chamber and cause it to need to be replaced sooner than otherwise. My use of distilled water in my humidifier would be maybe ten eleven dollars a year, a lot cheaper than replacing the plastic chamber.

If one reads the stories about these deaths from the brain eating amoeba, this bug is very prevalent in the southern parts of the country in lots of lakes and such where people frequently swim. Very few people ever get the bug because to do so one must get it up the nose, into the sinuses.

There are lots of other things that are in even chlorinated city water one does not want in ones nose. IMO, use distilled water for a Neti Pot.