Higher air temperatures means warmer water, which could be the reason the N. fowleri bacteria has been found in northern states more in recent years.
Exposure to the amoeba used to be even more rare outside of southern states. But of the six cases of PAM found in the Midwest since 1978, five occurred during or after 2010, according to a CDC"The rise in cases in the Midwest region after 2010 and increases in maximum and median latitudes of PAM case exposures suggest a northward expansion of N. fowleri exposures," the study said.
"It’s an amoeba that really likes warm conditions, really likes warm fresh water," she said."That’s the concern — that climate change can be contributing to these higher air temperatures." That led the authors to hypothesize that"rising temperatures and consequent increases in recreational water use, such as swimming and water sports, could contribute to the changing epidemiology of PAM."
But one of the cases in 2021 was in Northern California, at a"latitude similar to this case that we’re investigating now" in Iowa, she said."This disease is very aggressive and very quick so once the amoeba enters the nose it can travel ... to the brain," Haston said."Once it gets access to brain, it very rapidly causes inflation and swelling in the brain and destroys brain tissue.
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