I was going to make a thread about this, but I'll just post it here:
Link Quote:
LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. - Signs warning of the dangers of a rare amoeba will be posted at Lake Havasu, telling swimmers to take precautions such as plugging their noses when they dive.
The City Council voted on Tuesday to take the action after last month's death of 14-year-old Aaron Evans, who doctors believe was infected with the microscopic amoeba, Naegleria fowleri (nuh-GLEER-ee-uh FOWL'-erh-eye), while swimming at the Colorado River reservoir.
"I'm happy with it," said Keith Evans, Aaron's grandfather. "It shows they're stepping up."
The city will post the signs along the roughly one mile of waterfront it owns. Arizona and California share jurisdiction on the remaining lake frontage, along with county and state agencies and Indian tribes. Mohave County also is considering posting signs and the Board of Health will take up the matter next month, said Patty Mead, director of the county health department.
The signs Lake Havasu City plans to post will warn against dangers including "drowning, physical injuries, and illnesses caused by amoebae and bacteria which exist naturally," according to city staff. The signs directs bathers not to inhale water through their mouth and nose, and to avoid diving into murky or shallow water.
The city also may run public service announcements during periods of high water temperatures, when the amoeba becomes active, city spokesman Charlie Cassens said.
The amoeba is present in warm lakes and hot springs across the southern U.S. Human infection is extremely rare but almost always fatal, with six deaths reported this year in the U.S. The single-cell creature attacks the body when water is inhaled deeply into a person's nose; it attaches to the olfactory nerve, then makes its way to the brain.
They're saying that this amoeba wasn't a problem in the states until Global Warming started warming up the waters in the US.