Brain-eating Amoeba
in Our Lakes and Streams!

Fort Worth hospital has the drug to fight this parasite.

In case you missed it, here is an article that everyone who lives around and plays in fresh water lakes and streams should read. We should all be aware of this issue.

Here is Debbie's article:

Jeremy Lewis doesn't get out on the lake these days.
      Following the death of his 7-year-old son Kyle Lewis in 2010, the Mansfield resident doesn't even like looking at the lake.
      "It's like going to dinner with the person who murdered your son," Jeremy explained.
      Kyle passed away from the brain infection Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM), which was caused by the water-born amoeba Naegleria Fowleri.
      He had been swimming with family at Lake Granbury and in the Paluxy River. His grandparents are Monty and Claudette Lewis of Granbury.

Treatment Now Available
      Kyle's family is dedicated to making others aware of the amoeba and finding a cure.
      In fact, the Kyle Lewis Amoeba Awareness Foundation is responsible for locating a drug overseas to treat the brain infection.
      Jeremy said they found the miltefosine drug and coordinated with a drug company in the U.S. to provide the treatment to regional hospitals across the country.
      This summer, Cook Children's hospital in Fort Worth became the first in the nation to have the drug. Other hospitals with the drug are in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and elsewhere in Texas.

Quick Diagnosis is the Key
      With symptoms like fever, sudden headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, seizures and hallucinations, the patient could be wrongly diagnosed.
      "They have to ask whether the person has been swimming in a freshwater lake or river," Jeremy said. "That's the most critical piece of information."
      The signs and symptoms can progress rapidly and typically lead to death within a week.
      Miltefosine is the only known drug with no side affects to treat and kill the amoeba, Jeremy said.
      The drug was not available when Kyle contracted the brain-eating infection.

Another Case
      Mark Kinkade passed away in 1991 after contracting Naegleria Fowleri from Lake Granbury. He loved rock 'n' roll, snow and water skiing, fishing and making videos of his son Reece.
      Mark was a computer programmer for an insurance company. He passed away at age 27 leaving behind his young son and wife Deanne.

Awareness Most Important
      After Kyle's death, his family learned that a nose plug could have prevented the deadly infection.
      "We want to spread the awareness. We had no idea this danger existed," Jeremy said.
      He noted that the PAM amoeba was identified at Lake Granbury when a college student took 80 samples all over the lake, and more than 80 percent were positive.
      "With that 'rare' label for contracting the disease, people are given a false sense of security," Jeremy said. "But it is 99.9 percent fatal."
      It is hoped that treatment with miltefosine can change the odds.

dschneider@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066, ext. 255

For more information:

See Kyle Lewis Amoeba Awareness org.
CDC on Naegleria fowleri
Google "Naegleria fowleri".