Ever since we ran a story looking into the聽brain-eating parasite lurking in waterways across the South,聽we've noticed a聽stream of聽terrifying new聽reports showing that the deadly Naegleria fowleri amoeba is creeping further afield.
Though your risk of dying by the amoeba is extremely low, the fact that it's cropping up in popular destinations around聽the country聽is聽still bad news.聽This thing kills just about everyone who聽contracts聽it鈥, to be exact.聽Last week, an after being exposed from聽swimming in a river in Charleston County. In June, an 18-year-old paddler became and died shortly thereafter. The ameoba typically enters your body聽when聽water bearing it enters your nose. From our report:
The amoeba travels up the olfactory nerves and attacks the brain鈥檚 frontal lobe and connective tissue, causing swelling. Once a person is infected, death usually occurs within five to 18 days.
Now, the parasite has been and the surrounding area, according to National Parks Traveler. It's unclear whether it's spreading or just being observed and reported with more frequency.聽Either way, park superintendent David Vela is urging people to steer clear of geothermal features. The parasite has also been found in hot springs in Yellowstone National Park鈥攋ust up the way from Grand Teton鈥攂ut if you were to try swimming in them you鈥檇 probably die from the heat and chemicals first.
For more details on the amoeba and how the Centers for Disease Control investigates these deaths, check out our story from July.