Lake travis Amoebic infection

[TwoBitTxn]

Since I work in environmental health I get these things. Read it carefully. I kinda doubt divers are at any real risk.

Texas Department of Health
NEWS RELEASE
August 20, 2001


Third PAM Death Brings Renewed Water Precautions

A third child has died this month from primary amebic meningoencephalitis or
PAM, a rare form of meningitis. The Texas Department of Health (TDH)
continues to caution people to take precautions when swimming in lakes,
rivers, stock ponds or stagnant water.

A child from the Houston area died Aug. 19 from PAM. The youngster had been
skiing and swimming in Lake Travis near Austin the previous weekend. Earlier
this month a girl from the Tyler area and a boy from the Dallas area died
from the same illness. The girl had been swimming in Lake Hawkins and Lake
Palestine near Tyler. The boy had been swimming in Cedar Creek Lake
southeast of Dallas.

The infection is caused by a common ameba found in almost all untreated
surface water and in soil. The combination of lower water levels, high water
temperature and stagnant or slow moving water produces higher concentrations
of the amebae in the water, said TDH epidemiologist Neil Pascoe.

TDH recommends that people never swim in stagnant or polluted water and that
they take "No Swimming" signs seriously. As precautions, people should hold
their noses or use nose plugs when jumping into lakes, rivers, ponds or
other bodies of fresh water; use nose plugs when skiing or jet skiing; and
avoid swallowing water when swimming.

Infection is believed to occur when water containing the microorganisms is
forced into the nasal passages - usually when diving or jumping into water
or skiing - and the amebae then make their way into the brain and spinal
cord. PAM is not spread person to person.

Symptoms include severe headache, high fever, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting,
seizures and hallucinations. Though the disease is rare - Texas typically
has one to three cases a year - it is almost always fatal. Death usually
occurs within a week.

The amebae do not live in well-maintained swimming pools treated with
chlorine or in salt water.

?30?

(For information contact Neil Pascoe, Infectious Disease Epidemiology and
Surveillance Division, at 512?458?7676; or Emily Palmer, TDH Assistant
Public Information Officer, at 512?458?7400.)

Tom

 

[TexasMike]

Tom,

I heard about this last week and meant to ask you what you knew about it both at Dinner and during our Dives (well, surface interval) Sunday.

Do you think there are any other Texas sites that might be affected by this? Would the Oasis qualify since there isn't any inflow/outflow going on?

 

[TwoBitTxn]

I would think spots like the Oasis would pose a greater risk than a big lake like Travis or Cedar Creek. Its smaller, more stagnant, and the temp is higher. On the flip side all the cases have come from people water skiing and doing other activities that actually forcably ram water up the nose. Thats why I doubt scuba divers are at any real great risk. the organism is also goin to live in the top few inches of water. We don't tend to spend alot of time there. I would like to see the results of a water test done on the Oasis from a curiosity point. The water is probably ok.

To me this is just an awareness issue.

Tom

 

[jbd]

Saw a report on this on the news channel this morning. Seems Texas has 2 or 3 deaths each year from this according to the TDH spokesperson. Seems also to kill pretty quickly. Water temp seems to be part of the picture. I guess the Texas Swamp Divers will have to go deep and cold. Maybe some literature on the signs and symptoms would be appropriate at the next Swamp Diver get together.

 

[ScubaLadee]

Help!!!!

I have four children, all of which usually go to the lake for open water class trainings. Lake Travis is the usual choice for the instructors and students. My children are all fish and love to swim, do you think that the nose plug idea would be a prudent precaution. I'm not sure what to do now. Your input would be helpful, I've also got a call in to the pediatrician. Thanks for the info.

Karen

 

[TwoBitTxn]

I don't think a nose plug is a bad ldea. Or teach them to hold their nose when diving into the water.

The key point to this issue is..... forceable entry of water up the nasal passages. Such as feet first entry from a height, face planting when water skiing, getting ejected from a water bike.. etc

Casual swimming reduces the chances of contracting an already extremely rare disease.

Tom

 

[Jarrett]

Any heard anything else about this recently?

My niece swam with a group of girls in Cedar Creek lake a few years back and one of the group died a few days later from this, so its a close to home subject for me. As soon as I started thinking about taking my 10 year old daughter diving in Texas lakes in the late summer, this popped into my mind as an issue. Granted, its extremely rare, but a reality that it claims 2-3 children (usually female) in Texas every summer.

I guess putting on the mask and making sure it was sealed and easing into the water would be a good safety precaution for this. I still wonder about the ears though. Often times that lake water gets caught in there for a bit. Any news on this?

 

[TwoBitTxn]

This tends to effect water skiers and jet skiers the most. People who tend to have water forcibly enter the nose.

I havn't seen any reports this year from any of the Texas Lakes.

TwoBit

 

[Martin Myers]

Is the oasis spot the one between decatur and denton? I thought that spot was closed? Can somebody clarify if the oasis is open or shut and divable?

I would think spots like the Oasis would pose a greater risk than a big lake like Travis or Cedar Creek. Its smaller, more stagnant, and the temp is higher. On the flip side all the cases have come from people water skiing and doing other activities that actually forcably ram water up the nose. Thats why I doubt scuba divers are at any real great risk. the organism is also goin to live in the top few inches of water. We don't tend to spend alot of time there. I would like to see the results of a water test done on the Oasis from a curiosity point. The water is probably ok.

To me this is just an awareness issue.

Tom

 

[TwoBitTxn]

Yes, the oasis was between Decatur and Denton.

At the time this was originally posted, 2001, it was open. I have not dove there in a very long time, have no desire to dive there, and I do not know if it is even still available to dive.

TwoBit