How blissfully we would jump into ponds and lakes as kids and swim, splash, swallow, and blow out water that got into our noses. I remember one particular pond where friends and I swam that had mud so mushy and deep on the bottom that we had no idea what forms of life we were stirring up. Now researchers’ progress treating an infection caused by an amoeba lurking in such waters — unbeknownst to us — makes me shudder. According to the New York Times Science section, brain-eating amoebas — called Naegleria fowleri — live in “freshwater ponds in much of the United States.” It’s an “exceptionally lethal microbe that invades through the sinuses and feeds on human brain tissue.” Infections are rare (143 known U.S. victims since 1962) but almost always deadly; only four victims have survived.
The drug research looks promising, but maybe we should sit on the sofa and play electronic games for now?