Though it’s rare, still they try to prepare ya
Cos it’s real and not simply hysteria
This amoeba—this strain—
Likes to munch on your brain
So it’s best to beware of Naegleria!
Headline: Brain-eating amoebas blamed in three deaths
Three deaths so far this year—in Louisiana, Florida, and Virginia—are blamed on a freshwater amoeba. Given the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of swimmers trying to beat this summer’s deadly heat, this headline isn’t at all sensationalistic. No sir. Not this one. Conservatively, a tenth of the number dead from bee stings (probably less, but bee sting deaths are a hazy statistic, being rare enough we don’t tend to worry about them), brain-eating amoeba have a better public relations agent.
Growing up in Florida, amoeba were always a terror for me during the summer. Regularly during the summer natural swimming areas such as Disney’s River Country (sadly no longer open) and various springs are closed due to high water temperatures and the proliferation of amoeba. Obviously the risk is extremely small, but somewhere along the line the amoeba got a foothold (or should that be a pseudopod-hold) in the media’s consciousness.
Here’s a headline for you – http://montreal.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110817/mtl_mabus_110817/20110817/?hub=MontrealHome
Thanks, Pal! I had seen the headline, but never thought to use it! done, and done.