Arkansas Canoe Club Forums

As the water continues to heat up, the danger of Maegleria fowleri rears it ugly head.

Red River paddlers need to be especially vigilant about keeping your head out of the water.

http://www.4029tv.com/news/arkansas/okl ... olute=true

Can you say nose plugs

I think this one primarily kills folks under the age of 18. Something about the passageway from the nasal cavity to the brain route only being open until the cartilage hardens with age.

I'm not sure if they can enter the brain from the ear canal or not.

It sounds Similar to the ameoba that kills kids playing in cat or raccoon poo tainted sand boxes.

If I remember correctly from microbiology, Naeglaria is present in almost any warm water, so chances are we have all been exposed multiple times. The key to the pathology is when it crosses the meninges into the brain. It is very rare and for some reason affects mostly young males under 25. We don't know if there is a physiological/ anatomical reason for this or if it is a question of exposure. Human cases are just too rare to know for sure. I would not worry too much, you are at far greater risk driving to the river. If you do get it, things don't look good for you though, since delivering therapeutic doses of anti parasitic drugs to the cerebral spinal fluid is just not going to happen quick enough for most.

Dan

Aha!

Thanks for the technical expertise on the subject.

I am definitely no expert, just a guy who took a class. I am sure there are probably proffesionals who are reading this that forgot much more than I ever learned.

Dan

Thanks for the info! that brings it into perspective.