Category: Health

A man has died from a brain-eating amoeba contracted at a water park in Hope Mills. Health officials are working with Fantasy Lake Water Park on ways to protect swimmers in the future.

Last week, a North Carolina man became a notorious microbial killer’s first confirmed victim this year. The 59-year-old Eddie Gray had unknowingly come across a brain-eating amoeba while swimming in a man-made lake near Fayetteville in mid-July; 10 days later, he was dead. Since the brain-eating amoeba was first recognized and named, in 1970, grisly reports of its disastrous attacks…

Many swimmers have questions about bacteria and the safety of taking a dip in the ocean. An epidemiologist with the Chesapeake Health Department said vibrio is a bacteria that thrives in warm waters and can cause a flesh-eating infection.

“She walks with a stick but to swim she doesn’t need any support or help. Several others have joined swimming because of her advice,” says one of the trainers at the pool.

Before you and your family head to the pools and water parks this summer you should be aware of the parasite Cryptosporidium — more commonly known as “Crypto”. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports there are many different types of Cryptosporidium that infect animals and humans. Recreational water use is the most common…