Brain Eating Bugs? Really?

TUCSON, AZ — A brain-eating amoeba was found in municipal water wells here, but officials say the water is safe to drink, according to local reports.

(Ian; There goes another flying pig!)

Naegleria fowleri grabbed headlines in September after a 14-year-old boy from Lake Havasu City, AZ, died after he was infected with it. Aaron Evans was the sixth person in the United States to die from it this year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which reports a total of 24 deaths in the United States from the organism from 1989 to 2006.

The amoeba’s presence in groundwater used here for drinking water is perplexing: It usually is found in warm surface waters, such as rivers and lakes.