What's crazy is the fact that I lived both in Florida and Texas as a child. We practically grew up in the water. And we didn't always swim in the cleanest of lakes, ponds, or streams. I hate to say it but my Brothers and I would actually swim in the disgusting creeks that captured all of the runoff after storms. The water wasn't always running in those creeks needless to say. And here I am alive and well at almost 40 years of age.

Originally posted by milominderbinder


Greetings fellow wisconsinite.

Howdy neighbor.

Originally posted by Malynn

Originally posted by milominderbinder


Greetings fellow wisconsinite.

Howdy neighbor.

I gotta say...I never thought I would be thankful that I live in a place where the adjectival phrase "like bathwater" is used to describe the temperature of any swimming hole which is at least still partially in liquid form and isn't completely frozen solid.

Who knew that this could be a selling point?

Originally posted by txjab512
What's crazy is the fact that I lived both in Florida and Texas as a child. We practically grew up in the water. And we didn't always swim in the cleanest of lakes, ponds, or streams. I hate to say it but my Brothers and I would actually swim in the disgusting creeks that captured all of the runoff after storms. The water wasn't always running in those creeks needless to say. And here I am alive and well at almost 40 years of age.

Yes...but the times they are a' changin'.

Every year more and more fertiler runoff goes into the watersheds....which in turn provides a surplus of nutrients for ever-larger algae blooms...which in turn provides an overabundance of food for all manner of microbes.

Add into the equation whatever kind of sh%$tty chemicals and pharmaceuticals we dumping into the food chain and who knows how it might have served to amp up these little brain-eating bastards. A thicker cell wall here, a little bit better at penetrating the nasal membranes there, 20% faster reproductive cycle....and next thing you know 2% of humans can't find these guys off instead of .002% (or whatever. Numbers are hypothetical. Obviously).

Hell...given the fact that kids don't play outside NEARLY to the extent that they did three decades ago...we might ACTUALLY be seeing a TERRIFYING increase in how deadly these things are.

For example...let's say those "100 cases in the last 40 years" were split perfectly evenly at 25 case per 10 year period ('62-'71, '72-'81, etc). It seems like it's the "normal amount" of infection at first glance...but I'd willing to bet my soul that the number of kids (or adults for that matter) swimming in non-chlorinated, natural ponds, rivers, lakes, etc was DRASTICALLY higher during the '60's than what was from '02 onwards in our new Age of Xbox and Bubble-Wrapped Children.

The (drastically oversimplified version of the) equation would have to look something like:

{(# of people who swim in natural watersheds) * (Frequency of swimming) / (# of Infections)} * (population growth modifier) = Relative Probability of Infection

Even taking into account population growth I think we are on a pretty even keel given that the kids (the one's I assume would be most likely to be swimming) from the '60's were Baby Boomers and therefore disproportionately large as a generational cohort.

Whatever. Just armchair speculation. I might be way off and I gotta say...it's not that burning of a question for me to conduct a 6 year study which evaluates all of the empirical data. Just tossing out some ideas.

You just don't swallow the water, and wear nose plugs. Plain and simple.

Yes it is scarey, it is also extremely rare. And you forgot to mention it only thrives a few months out of the year.