[Health] The Infectious Diseases Thread

[Isgrimnur]

The Americas are Rubella-free!

North and South America have become the first regions of the world to eradicate rubella, or German measles, after no home-grown cases in five years.

The virus - spread by sneezes or coughs - can lead to serious birth defects if contracted by pregnant women.

Up to 20,000 children were born with rubella in the Americas every year until mass vaccinations started.

But the last endemic cases registered in the region were in Argentina and Brazil in 2009.

The fact no new cases have been declared in five consecutive years, apart from those imported into the region, allowed global health chiefs to declare the Americas free of the virus.
...
During the last major rubella outbreak in the region, between 1964 and 1965, close to 20,000 children were born with CRS in the United States. The country managed to wipe out the virus by 2004.

However, about 120,000 new cases of rubella emerge every year, particularly in south-east Asia and Africa.

Of course the antivaxxers are passing on the MMR, which resulted in the measles outbreak at the Happiest Place on Earth.

[Isgrimnur]

FDA: Prove those hospital disinfectants actually work and are safe.

Hospital workers wash their hands hundreds of times a day. Nurses are constantly using alcohol gels, chemical wipes and iodine washes on themselves and on patients.

Now that there's a hand sanitizer dispenser at every hospital room door, it's time to check that they actually do work as well as everyone assumes and that they are safe, the Food and Drug Administration says.

Up until now, FDA's just accepted that these products work as intended and are safe. But now, FDA says, there are tests available to actually prove they do. And because of the emphasis on hospital infections, institutions are using the products far more frequently than even 10 years ago and in many different ways.

So FDA issued a proposed plan Thursday for reclassifying some of the products, and for requiring makers to show they are safe and effective.
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The FDA proposes new rules making companies submit new studies looking at safety issues such as whether heavy, chronic use of the some of the products may cause them to soak in through the skin, or cause resistant bacteria to evolve.

Products that are not shown to be safe and effective by 2018 would have to be reformulated or taken off the market.
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FDA points to studies that show some of the products might be absorbed into the body at higher levels than previously thought, showing up in blood and urine. Dolan says not all the studies show this, but it's worthwhile doing more checks.
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The FDA last updated its review of health care hand cleaners in 1994.

[Isgrimnur]

Oh, how you all laughed when I warned you about the semen. Well, who's laughing now?

CDC warning

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Friday that the deadly Ebola virus might be sexually transmitted by survivors months after their recovery.

Based on the finding from a case in Liberia, the CDC issued a new warning that contact with semen from male Ebola survivors should be avoided until more information is known about the duration of virus.
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The new warning is based on the case last month of a woman in Monrovia, Liberia, who became infected with Ebola despite having only one possible link to the virus: unprotected intercourse with a survivor.

The 44-year-old woman reported having sex with an Ebola survivor on March 7, five months after the survivor was discharged from a clinic.

Health officials said previous studies showed the virus could be found in the semen of recovering men up to 82 days after the onset of symptoms. But the new finding suggests the virus can persist in seminal fluid for longer than previously recognized, and potentially lead to sexual transmission of the virus.

[Isgrimnur]

Blame the pit bulls.

The largest outbreak of pneumonic plague in the U.S. in 90 years started with an infected pit bull, according to a new government report.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that four adults contracted the plague last summer after a middle-aged man’s 2-year-old American pit bull terrier fell ill with a fever and was coughing up blood. The man had the dog put down but a few days later he developed similar symptoms and checked himself into a hospital. After his condition worsened, he was transferred to another medical facility and spent 23 days hospitalized in all before recovering.

Researchers contacted 114 people who had come in contact with the dog or his owner and found three others who had gotten sick. Two were employees of the vet clinic that euthanized the pit bull and the other person had “close contact” with the owner and got the dog’s blood on her hands after it died. All of them reported getting a fever but none became as sick as the owner.

[Isgrimnur]

Bird flu

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad declared a state of emergency on Friday due to a rapidly expanding avian flu outbreak, soon after state agriculture officials announced four new poultry farms had initially tested positive for the virus.

Iowa, the top egg-producing state in the United States, is the third state to declare a state of emergency because of the viral outbreak, which either has led or will lead to the extermination of up to 21 million chickens and turkeys nationwide.

Minnesota and Wisconsin declared states of emergency in April.
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The measure expands the efforts of the state's emergency response plan, and authorizes various state entities access to additional resources, supplies and equipment to track and contain the influenza outbreak. It also allows for the removal and disposal of infected animals on either public or private lands and lifts weight restrictions on trucks hauling culled flocks, among other things.

In addition, the action allows the state and local law enforcement to set up checkpoints and road blocks anywhere in the state, including areas outside of quarantined farms, "in order to stop the spread of this contagious disease," according to the governor's proclamation.
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"While the avian influenza outbreak does not pose a risk to humans, we are taking the matter very seriously and believe declaring a state of emergency is the best way to make all resources available," Branstad said in a statement.

[AWS260]

Because Ebola wasn't already terrifying enough, we now know that it hides in eyeballs.

The pressure inside his eye, which had been dangerously elevated, began to drop — too much. The eye became doughy to the touch, as if it were turning to mush.

“The eye felt dead to me,” Dr. Crozier said.

The biggest shock came one morning about 10 days after his symptoms started, when he glanced in the mirror and saw that his eye had actually changed color. His iris, normally bright blue, had turned a vivid green.

[LawBeefaroni]

Because Ebola wasn't already terrifying enough, we now know that it hides in eyeballs.

The pressure inside his eye, which had been dangerously elevated, began to drop — too much. The eye became doughy to the touch, as if it were turning to mush.

“The eye felt dead to me,” Dr. Crozier said.

The biggest shock came one morning about 10 days after his symptoms started, when he glanced in the mirror and saw that his eye had actually changed color. His iris, normally bright blue, had turned a vivid green.

Changes eye color without contacts? Ebotox!

[Isgrimnur]

Measles weakens the immune system for years:

However, the effects of measles may be with those individuals for quite some time. A new study finds that the measles virus erases the immune system’s memory, leaving patients vulnerable to other infectious diseases for up to three years afterward.
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When the measles virus strikes, it binds to, and then destroys, immune system cells called B-cells and T-cells. Both types of cells are vital to the body’s defense against disease. They do this by “remembering” past infections. The body carries around a set of B-cells and T-cells to match every infection it has ever encountered.

After a measles infection, it takes time for these cells to repopulate. Researchers have known that measles’ toll on these cells weakens patients’ immune defenses, but they thought that vulnerability only lasted for a few weeks.

However, in a 2012 study, researchers noticed that this wasn’t true in macaque monkeys. Monkeys who had measles and recovered started producing new B-cells and T-cells about a month later. But the new cells only had memory for the measles virus, not for any of the other infections the monkeys had been exposed to previously. The monkeys’ immune systems had amnesia, and it left them vulnerable to infectious diseases that otherwise might not have been a problem.

Princeton researcher Michael J. Mina and his colleagues wondered if the same thing would happen to humans who get measles. To test this, the researchers compared measles infection rates to the rate of deaths from other infectious diseases each year, from the decades before and the decades after measles vaccination became common, in England, Wales, the U.S., and Denmark.

Deaths from other infections did, in fact, correlate with the number of measles cases in each year. In years with fewer cases of measles, fewer children died from other infections, and vice versa.

But, more interestingly, they found that measles outbreaks increased death rates for two to three years after their appearance. In fact measles infection more strongly predicted deaths 28 months later than deaths that same year, the researchers report this week in Science.

[Jeff V]

So assuming the measles victim is not an antivaxxer in the first place, it sounds like they might need have all of their vaccines redone.

[Isgrimnur]

H5N8

A strain of highly pathogenic H5 avian flu that had recently been found only in the Western United States has been confirmed in a backyard poultry flock in Indiana, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Monday.

The eastward spread of any strain of the H5 virus is worrying to farmers and state and federal investigators alike, who have hoped that warmer spring weather would help lower the number of infections in birds and curtail the virus' spread.

The U.S. poultry and egg industry has been grappling with the biggest-ever outbreak of avian influenza in the United States.

The H5N8 strain in Indiana is the same one that had been previously confirmed in the Pacific flyway, specifically in commercial chicken and turkey farms in California and a backyard poultry flock in Oregon, as well as in captive falcons in Idaho and Washington, according to the USDA.
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A different strain of the H5 virus, H5N2, has been spreading rapidly across the Midwest in recent weeks and resulted in nearly 30 million birds either dying or being killed due to the outbreak.

The case in Indiana expands this outbreak's reach of bird flu to 15 states. USDA said a federal veterinary laboratory confirmed the test results and the site in Whitley County, Indiana, has been quarantined. The birds on site will be culled to try to contain the spread of the virus, USDA said in a statement.

There have been three strains of highly pathogenic H5 that have been identified in North America in this outbreak.
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The Canadian authorities also have confirmed the H5N1 strain was found in British Columbia, Canada.

[Isgrimnur]

Ebola sticks around on surfaces for days:

The Ebola virus can live on surfaces in hospitals for nearly two weeks, a new study suggests.

Researchers tested how long the Ebola virus could survive on plastic, stainless steel and Tyvek, a material used in Ebola suits. The researchers also simulated different environmental conditions
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In general, the virus survived on surfaces for a longer time when in the climate-controlled conditions than in the West African environment, the study found. Under hospital-like conditions, the virus lived for 11 days on Tyvek, eight days on plastic and four days on stainless steel. The longest the virus was able to survive in the tropical conditions of the West African environment was three days, on Tyvek.
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The higher heat and humidity of the tropical conditions may be harmful to the virus, but the researchers still need to test whether it is the temperature, the humidity or a combination of the two that is causing the virus to degrade more quickly, Munster said.

The study also found that the Ebola virus could survive in water for up to six days. The potential for the virus to be spread through wastewater remains unknown, but the new finding "warrants further investigation into the persistence of the virus in aqueous environments, such as in wastewater or sewage canals," the researchers said.

Finally, the study found that the virus could survive in dried blood for up to five days, and in liquid blood (outside the body) for as long as 14 days.

No report on semen viability.

[Isgrimnur]

Mixed report on foodborne pathogens:

Despite making progress in certain areas, U.S. health officials have made no progress in curbing overall rates of Salmonella and Campylobacter - two pathogens that cause the highest number of illnesses in people.

To see improvement on those two, "we're going to have to see some widespread changes in the meat or poultry industry, so that the reservoirs for these organisms are less contaminated," Griffin said, commenting on the report issued on Thursday.
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Salmonella Typhimurium, which has been linked to poultry, beef, and other foods, fell by 27 percent compared with 2006-2008, continuing a downward trend begun in the mid-1980s.

But the incidence of Campylobacter, Vibrio and two less common types of Salmonella - Javiana and Infantis - rose during the same period. When all Salmonella serotypes are combined, there was no change in 2014.
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Gensheimer said FDA is on schedule to issue final rules late this summer for the Food Safety Modernization Act, a sweeping package of food safety reforms. Among the areas to be covered are produce safety, preventive controls for food produced in facilities, and the safety of imported food, she said.

Overall in 2014, FoodNet logged just over 19,000 infections, about 4,400 hospitalizations, and 71 deaths from the nine foodborne germs it tracks. Salmonella and Campylobacter were by far the most common– accounting for about 14,000 of the 19,000 infections reported.

The real number of infections is likely much larger, however, because many people with foodborne infections are never tested. Griffin estimates that for every person with a lab-confirmed case of Salmonella, for example, there are about 29 other people who also had the infection but were not tested.

I'm sure the major food producers are already revving up their lawyers.

[Isgrimnur]

Texas West Nile season begins:

Harris County public health officials on Thursday confirmed the first human case of West Nile Virus in Texas in 2015.

The elderly patient, whose name was not released, lives in northwest Harris County. The patient was expected to recover.
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In 2014, Harris County confirmed 61 human cases, excluding the city of Houston, with one fatality. Statewide, 371 individuals had confirmed infections last year. West Nile Virus season typically runs from June to October.

[Isgrimnur]

Tuna suspected in salmonella outbreak

An outbreak of salmonella believed to be linked to raw tuna in sushi has sickened at least 53 people in the United States, mostly in California, officials say.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a statement Thursday an investigation has not identified which supplier of raw tuna might have been responsible for the outbreak, which so far has led 10 people to be hospitalized but has not caused any deaths.
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In California, 31 people have become ill from the outbreak in six counties, including Los Angeles and San Diego counties, according to the California Department of Public Health. The other eight states where people were sickened include Arizona which had 10 cases and New Mexico which had six.

And because I've always been curious about the name:

The story of the term Salmonella started in 1885 with the discovery of the bacterium Salmonella enterica (var. Choleraesuis) by medical research scientist Theobald Smith. At the time Theobald was working as a research laboratory assistant in the Veterinary Division of the United States Department of Agriculture. The department was under the administration of Daniel Elmer Salmon, a veterinary pathologist, and that is for whom the Salmonella was named.

[Jeff V]

Last night, I cooked a tuna steak that's been in my freezer for a while. I seared the outside, the inside ranged from rare to still-swimming (almost room temperature). Since it was not listed as shashimi-grade, I briefly wondered how safe it was (then ate it anyway).

My innards aren't trying to escape...yet.

[Isgrimnur]

Anthrax via FedEx:

Four lab workers in the United States and up to 22 overseas have been put in post-exposure treatment after the U.S. military inadvertently shipped live anthrax samples via FedEx, a defense official told CNN.

CNN learned on Wednesday that a Maryland-based lab had received live samples, prompting an across-the-board urgent review to see whether any other live anthrax has been shipped.

The live anthrax samples were sent via FedEx, according to a Defense Department official. The shipments, thought to be dead, were shipped under less rigorous conditions than the live agent protocol.

[Isgrimnur]

Ferry cross the MERSey.

More than 680 people in South Korea are isolated after having contact with patients infected with a virus that has killed hundreds of people in the Middle East, health officials said Monday.

South Korea has reported 17 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome since diagnosing the country’s first MERS illness last month in a man who had travelled to Saudi Arabia. South Korea’s cases have connections to the first patient, either medical staff who treated him or patients who stayed near the man at the hospital before he was diagnosed and isolated.

Also, the son of one of the patients ignored doctor’s orders to cancel a trip to China, where he was diagnosed as that country’s first MERS case last week.

[LawBeefaroni]

Also, the son of one of the patients ignored doctor’s orders to cancel a trip to China, where he was diagnosed as that country’s first MERS case last week.

Oh, I'm sure he'll be well taken care of by Chinese authorities.

Apparently there are a couple hundred people being held in isolation in China after coming into contact with this guy.

[Freyland]

It would have been more convenient if he had traveled to North Korea instead. Those people are always kept in isolation.

[Isgrimnur]

Septicemic plague

A Colorado teen died of the plague just a day after his 16th birthday.

Taylor Gaes died in route to the hospital on June 8 with Larimer County’s first case of the septicemic plague since 1999, an official confirmed to ABC News today.

Gaes -- a sophomore at Poudre High School -- began experiencing flu-like symptoms after pitching at a baseball game on June 4, Katie O’Donnell from the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment said.
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“This form of the plague is extremely rare because the bacteria goes right to the bloodstream. It’s just the third case in the past 30 years that we’ve seen,” O’Donnell said.

“It’s hard to diagnose because people tend to not have the typical symptoms to start out with and ultimately, they don’t get on antibiotics in time,” she added.
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“It’s not human-to-human contagious and it’s highly unlikely that anyone else was bit by an infected flea, but the family didn’t want to wait and risk someone else getting sick,” she said.

O’Donnell said it takes a good two to six days for someone to start seeing the symptoms of the plague after being infected. She estimates Taylor was bitten the weekend before he died.

[AWS260]

Go Nigeria.

Once stigmatized as the world's polio epicenter, Nigeria on Friday celebrates its first year with no reported case of the crippling disease, having overcome obstacles ranging from Islamic extremists who assassinated vaccinators to rumors the vaccine was a plot to sterilize Muslims.

Just 20 years ago this West African nation was recording 1,000 polio cases a year — the highest in the world. The last recorded case of a child paralyzed by the wild polio virus endemic in Nigeria's impoverished and mainly Muslim north was on July 24, 2014.

[Isgrimnur]

Now if Pakistan and Afghanistan will just get their crap together.

[Jeff V]

The last recorded case of a child paralyzed by the wild polio virus endemic in Nigeria's impoverished and mainly Muslim north was on July 24, 2014.

[/quote]

But they are still being paralyzed by domesticated polio viruses, right? Isn't that how the plot to sterilize Muslims is really supposed to work?

[Defiant]

Good news regarding an Ebola vaccine

[Freyland]

Good news regarding an Ebola vaccine

Disclaimer: I am pleased as punch about the contents of that article.

That said, the "Guinea trial" was probably an unfortunate choice of names...

[Isgrimnur]

Were there any police in the trial?

[Freyland]

Well, they are testing a fairly experimental vaccine. Someone who is trying out something new, or is being experimented on is often referred to as a "guinea pig". Calling it the Guinea trial, even though regionally appropriate, seemed to really emphasize an uncertain outcome.

[Isgrimnur]

Legionnaire's Disease

The Legionnaire’s disease outbreak in New York City continues to get worse with health officials now reporting 81 people infected and 7 deaths of people with the disease.

The New York City Health Department reported that the all those who died had underlying medical problems and were older adults. Of those infected 64 had to be hospitalized. The disease is caused by Legionnella bacteria and is spread through water droplets that are inhaled. It can be spread through fountains, shower heads, pools or air conditioning cooling towers.

Currently, five cooling towers in the South Bronx have tested positive for legionella bacteria. In those cases, the air inside the building isn’t generally affected, instead it the air conditioners let off cooling mist from the top of the building which then can infect people passing by the area.
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To stop the outbreak the New York City Health Department is taking steps including talking to doctors, reaching out to community leaders and attempting to match the bacteria making patients sick with the bacteria found in various cooling units. New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio said in a statement he would introduce legislation designed to cut down on Legionnaire’s disease outbreaks.
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In Michigan a woman reportedly died suddenly after contracting the bacterial disease.

[Smoove_B]

The bacteria got its name in 1976, when a group of people attending an American Legion convention became infected

Happened in Philadelphia -- the Robot killing city.

[Smoove_B]

Ok, ok -- since you all asked and because JeffV could be at risk -- the 8/4 update on Cyclosporiasis:

As of August 3, 2015 (4pm EDT), a total of 384 ill persons with confirmed Cyclospora infection were reported to CDC in 2015. Most (226; 59%) ill persons reported onset of illness on or after May 1, 2015 and no international travel. Clusters of illness linked to restaurants or events have been identified in Texas, Wisconsin, and Georgia. Cluster investigations are ongoing in Texas and Georgia. Cluster investigations in Wisconsin and Texas have preliminarily identified cilantro as a suspect vehicle. Investigations are ongoing to identify specific food item(s) linked to the cases that are not part of the identified clusters.

[Isgrimnur]

Whelp, there goes my idea of eating at Taco Bell for lunch.

[Isgrimnur]

Regulators!

Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Tuesday a historic outbreak of Legionnaires' disease that killed seven New Yorkers has triggered an effort to mandate city-wide inspections and cleanings of air conditioning cooling towers.

Since July 10, the disease has sickened 86 people in the South Bronx, a New York City neighborhood that is one of the poorest in the United States, the mayor said at a news conference with Mary Bassett, the city's health commissioner.

The number could climb higher since the last disinfection of cooling towers tied to the outbreak took place on Monday, and the incubation period for Legionnaires' disease is 10 days. But officials said the outbreak has peaked, and they've seen a reduction in the rate of its growth.
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De Blasio said he would propose legislation this week to prevent future outbreaks, including regular cooling tower inspections, new recommendations for an immediate outbreak response and sanctions for failing to comply with new standards.

[LawBeefaroni]

Ok, ok -- since you all asked and because JeffV could be at risk -- the 8/4 update on Cyclosporiasis:

As of August 3, 2015 (4pm EDT), a total of 384 ill persons with confirmed Cyclospora infection were reported to CDC in 2015. Most (226; 59%) ill persons reported onset of illness on or after May 1, 2015 and no international travel. Clusters of illness linked to restaurants or events have been identified in Texas, Wisconsin, and Georgia. Cluster investigations are ongoing in Texas and Georgia. Cluster investigations in Wisconsin and Texas have preliminarily identified cilantro as a suspect vehicle. Investigations are ongoing to identify specific food item(s) linked to the cases that are not part of the identified clusters.

Sounds like you can only get it by eating old poo. I should be good.

[Isgrimnur]

HIV flushing

The team at the UC Davis School of Medicine investigated PEP005 - one of the ingredients in a treatment to prevent cancer in sun-damaged skin.

They tested the drug in cells grown in the laboratory and in parts of the immune system taken from 13 people with HIV.

The report said "PEP005 is highly potent in reactivating latent HIV" and that the chemical represents "a new group of lead compounds for combating HIV".

One of the researchers, Dr Satya Dandekar, said: "We are excited to have identified an outstanding candidate for HIV reactivation and eradication that is already approved and is being used in patients.

"This molecule has great potential to advance into translational and clinical studies."
However, the drug has still not been tested in people who are HIV-positive.

[Jeff V]

Ok, ok -- since you all asked and because JeffV could be at risk -- the 8/4 update on Cyclosporiasis:

As of August 3, 2015 (4pm EDT), a total of 384 ill persons with confirmed Cyclospora infection were reported to CDC in 2015. Most (226; 59%) ill persons reported onset of illness on or after May 1, 2015 and no international travel. Clusters of illness linked to restaurants or events have been identified in Texas, Wisconsin, and Georgia. Cluster investigations are ongoing in Texas and Georgia. Cluster investigations in Wisconsin and Texas have preliminarily identified cilantro as a suspect vehicle. Investigations are ongoing to identify specific food item(s) linked to the cases that are not part of the identified clusters.

I would be immune to anything spread through cilantro since I avoid it like Superman does kryptonite.

[Isgrimnur]

Blue Bell returns!

Blue Bell has released the third flavor that will be hitting the store shelves. And guess what, it's Cookies 'n Cream!

"Our next flavor is Cookies 'n Cream - a creamy vanilla ice cream with tasty chunks of chocolate creme cookies. The flavors revealed so far are our top-three, fan favorites! We've got one more to share tomorrow." Blue Bell posted on Instagram Wednesday.

"Are you ready for the second flavor? Our Dutch Chocolate is a rich, creamy chocolate ice cream made with the finest imported chocolate. All of us at Blue Bell are anxiously awaiting that first bowl of ice cream along with everyone else! #bluebell #dutchchocolate," Blue Bell posted Tuesday.

Blue Bell is doing a slow rollout of the flavors that will be hitting the shelves when the ice cream returns to select stores on Aug. 31. The creamery is releasing a sneak peek of the product lineup via Instagram. The first flavor that will be tempting our taste buds is Homemade Vanilla and the chocolate treat is a great followup.

"The first flavor we're revealing is our top-selling Homemade Vanilla! It's rich, homemade tasting vanilla ice cream with a special hand-cranked flavor that's the best in the country. We'll unveil another flavor tomorrow!" Blue Bell announced on Monday.
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The Blue Bell facility in Sylacauga, Alabama, began producing ice cream in late July. The production facilities in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and Brenham are still undergoing upgrades similar in nature to the Alabama plant.

Blue Bell said its products will re-enter parts of 15 states in five phases. The first of the five phases includes the Houston, Brenham and Austin areas, as well as parts of Alabama, including Birmingham and Montgomery.

[Paingod]

Blue Bell returns!

In April, Blue Bell voluntarily recalled all of its products after some were linked to 10 cases of listeriosis. Three of those people, all in Kansas, died.

[Isgrimnur]

Which would be why I posted it in this thread.

[Isgrimnur]

Brain amoebas

The fatal brain-eating amoeba has struck once again, this time claiming the life of a 14-year-old star athlete.

Michael John Riley Jr. was just days away from starting his freshman year of high school. The Houston teen, who qualified for the Junior Olympics three times in track, was swimming with his cross-country team on August 13 at Sam Houston State Park.

That's when Michael encountered the Naegleria fowleri amoeba. Within days, the teen's bad headache turned into a total loss of brain function. He died Sunday.
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Naegleria fowleri is a single-celled organism that can cause a brain infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

It's typically found in warm fresh water such as lakes, rivers and hot springs.

"These disease-causing organisms are naturally present in most lakes, ponds, and rivers but multiply rapidly in very warm and stagnant water," the Oklahoma State Department of Health said.

People can get infected by swimming or diving into infected, warm bodies of water, the CDC said. The amoeba enters the nose and travels to the brain.

In extremely rare cases, swimmers can get infected from pools that are not adequately chlorinated.

But it's impossible to get infected by drinking water contaminated with the amoeba. And infections are not contagious.
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In the past 53 years, only about 133 cases have been documented, according to the CDC.

Most of those cases happened in Texas, Florida, Arkansas, Arizona and California.
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Of those 133 cases, only three people survived.
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The extreme rarity and randomness of such infections can make it difficult to predict where they might occur.

"It is unknown why certain persons become infected with (Naegleria fowleri) while millions of others exposed to warm recreational fresh waters do not, including those who were swimming with people who became infected," the CDC said.

The Kansas health department advises swimmers to use nose plugs when swimming in fresh water.

[Isgrimnur]

Ancient viruses

Scientists said they will reanimate a 30,000-year-old giant virus unearthed in the frozen wastelands of Siberia, and warned climate change may awaken dangerous microscopic pathogens.

Reporting this week in the flagship journal of the US National Academy of Sciences, French researchers announced the discovery of Mollivirus sibericum, the fourth type of pre-historic virus found since 2003 — and the second by this team.

Before waking it up, researchers will have to verify that the bug cannot cause animal or human disease.

To qualify as a “giant”, a virus has to be longer than half a micron, a thousandth of a millimetre (0.00002 of an inch).

Mollivirus sibericum — “soft virus from Siberia” — comes in at 0.6 microns, and was found in the permafrost of northeastern Russia.
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In safe laboratory conditions, Claverie and colleagues will attempt to revive the newly discovered virus by placing it with single-cell amoeba, which will serve as its host.

Claverie, who runs a lab at France’s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), and a team discovered another giant virus, which they called Pithovirus sibericum, at the same location in 2013, then managed to revive it in a petri dish.

Unlike most viruses circulating today, and to the general astonishment of scientists, these ancient specimens dating from the last Ice Age are not only bigger, but far more complex genetically.

M. sibericum has more than 500 genes, while another family of giant virus discovered in 2003, Pandoravirus, has 2,500. The Influenza A virus, by contrast, has eight genes.