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ATLANTA - Federal health officials warned swimmers Thursday to take precautions in warmwater lakes and streams, mostly in the South, because of a dangerous amoeba blamed in at least eight deaths in the past two years.
All the victims, most recently a 12-year-old boy who died after swimming in a North Carolina lake in July, suffered swelling of the brain after inhaling the microscopic organism into their nasal passages. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that swimmers in fresh waters of least 80 degrees hold their noses, wear nose clips or keep their heads out of the water.
"This really is a bad problem. It's fortunately rare, but when it strikes, it's bad," Dr. James Maguire, chief of the CDC's parasitic diseases branch, said Thursday.
Of the millions of swimmers each season, few are infected. Only about 100 cases have been reported in the United States since 1965. But the CDC said primary amebic meningoencephalitis cases are nearly always fatal.
The amoeba Naegleria fowleri thrives in warm, unchlorinated water and appears worldwide.
Last year, two cases each were reported in Texas, Arizona and Florida, and one was reported in Georgia. In July, 12-year-old Sean Stayton died after swimming in Falls Lake north of Raleigh, N.C. Family members said symptoms began with headache and fatigue, and progressed to hallucinations and high-pitched screaming.
"We understand many people enjoy swimming over the summer, but we would ask them to evaluate their swimming venue," said Dr. LeAnne Fox of the CDC. "If the water level is very low and is not flowing very swiftly, it may be a time you would choose not to spend your time in the water."