We’ve Got Brain Eating Germs In Florida!
The Florida Department of Health is warning residents of Hillsborough County to avoid nasal contact with tap water after confirming that someone in the region has been infected by a rare, brain-eating amoeba.
Naegleria fowleri, a heat-loving single-celled organism amoeba, is usually found in warm freshwater and typically infects people when contaminated water enters the body through the nose, according to the CDC.
Once the microscopic amoeba enters the body, it travels up towards the brain, where it destroys brain tissue and typically leads to death within a week.
Health officials recommended that people use nose clips while swimming in warm freshwater and avoid water-related activities in these areas during the warmer summer months.
In the 10 years between 2009 and 2018, only 34 infections were reported in America. Of these cases, 30 were infected in water, 3 were infected after using contaminated tap water to irrigate their noses, and one person was infected by contaminated water while on a backyard slip-n-slide, the CDC reported.
Full story here.
It’s been a while since we’ve written about Florida, and not because there’s been a shortage of material. But oh boy, it never stops! Can you think of a more dangerous place to live, other than maybe a legitimate war zone? They’re basically sweating Covid, they’ve got a brain eating amoeba that attacks you through your nose, and unless you’ve forgotten, they’ve got a pretty serious python problem. Florida’s a literal petris dish; a petris dish that is also giant, and covered in predators.
You’re not safe anywhere down there! You can’t go to a beach, you can’t go into a swamp, and now you can’t ‘irrigate your nose with tap water’. You can’t even go down a GD slip and slide! I love the precautions for this: “don’t drink out the tap and wear a nose clip when swimming” HA. You think anybody’s taking that advice? Forgive me for the momentary entrance of politics into the chat but I would be SHOCKED if the same state that refuses to wear a mask will suddenly be okay with wearing a nose clip. What the fuck even is a nose clip? I’m imagining it’s just one of those clips you put on bags of bread to keep them fresh, just on your nose.
I’d be so dead. I was fucked at don’t mess with tap water. Everywhere I visit I ask if I can drink out the tap, and then I drink out of it regardless of the answer. I’m not really asking. I’m just making sure that people know that I’m conscientious enough to ask. I love tap water. I will never own a Brita filter. It’s so much work to just get a drink, who has the time? You can say your city has the cleanest tap water in the country and I’ll believe you without hesitation. You can call me spoiled- that’s 100% it. I grew up in areas where we either had a well or a clean water system that could be trusted. That’s amazing, and I’m lucky. It also turned me into a fucking idiot. I’m full lemming when it comes to tap water. I’m a prime candidate for brain amoebas. I’d say at least top 1% of candidates. Honestly, if I don’t get one I’ll be offended.
The only think I’ve got going for me is I don’t fuck with lakes. Spare me the boats and the tubing and the brain eating germs, team ocean for life.
