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Metro
6 hours ago
- Health
- Metro
Brain-eating amoeba with 97% fatality rate found in Australian drinking water
A potentially deadly amoeba has been found in drinking water in Australia. Testing by Queensland health authorities found naegleria fowleri in the water supply of two towns in the south west of the region. Murweh Shire Council, which covers Charleville and Augathella, the two affected towns, said the risk of the amoeba's presence comes from unchlorinated water sourced from the Great Artesian Basin, a huge underground reservoir. The basin is the only source of fresh water for much of inland Australia, and the largest and deepest in the world. A spokesperson for the council said: 'As a precaution, council is currently arranging the collection of further water samples to identify the extent of naegleria fowleri colonisation in the drinking water supplies serving the communities of Charleville and Augathella. 'Samples will also be collected from the Morven supply as a precaution.' The council is also reassuring residents that drinking water is still safe for human consumption, and boiling water for drinking, food preparation and personal hygiene is not necessary. Council chief Bruce Scott said: 'This public health risk is very new to council too, but we hope to have a suitably qualified person/s … to provide answers where possible. 'Please observe the advice provided, and council is seeking your assistance to help spread the word on how to manage this risk sensibly and reassure people to remain calm until the public health unit, the water regulator and council can provide a mitigation strategy.' While the amoeba has been detected in the water supply, there currently haven't been any new recorded infections, ABC reports. Naegleria fowleri is also commonly known as the 'brain-eating amoeba' because it can infect the brain and destroy brain tissue. It is commonly found in warm freshwater environments and is considered to be one of the most dangerous water-borne microorganisms. If water infected with the amoeba enters the nose and reaches the brain, it can cause a rare but serious infection called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). This is nearly always fatal, with a 97% fatality rate. Between 1962 and 2024 in the US, of 167 reported cases of the illness, only four people survived, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Early PAM symptoms include a headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting, but as the illness progresses patients can develop a stiff neck, confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance, and hallucinations. Most people with PAM die within one to 18 days after symptoms first begin. Brain infections caused by naegleria fowleri most often occur after someone goes swimming in a lake, river, or other fresh water during warm weather. In a few cases, infection has occurred when victims used tap water containing the amoeba to rinse their sinuses or wash their faces. However, you cannot get a naegleria fowleri infection from swallowing water containing the amoeba, or get an infection from someone else or pass it on to others. The only way to get the infection is for naegleria fowleri-infested water to go up the nose and access the brain. Murweh Shire Council and the Queensland Public Health Unit advise: Do not allow water to go up your nose when bathing, showering or washing your face Supervise children when bathing, showering and washing their faces to prevent water from going up their nose Don't allow children to play unsupervised with hoses or sprinklers and teach them not to squirt water up their nose Don't put your head under water when bathing or swimming in pools filled with town water that has not been adequately chlorinated Avoid slip-n-slides and other activities where it is difficult to prevent water from going up the nose Avoid using the water for any form of nasal irrigation or nasal lavage There have been five cases of PAM in the Queensland region since 2000, most recently one-year-old Cash Keough from Richmond who died in 2015. More Trending Before that, five-year-old James Elliott died on Boxing Day 2001, and his half-sister 19-month-old Anabella Elliott died eight years later. Children are thought to be more at risk because the sliver of bone which separates the brain from the nose inside the skull is underdeveloped in children, allowing the amoeba to pass through. The illness is difficult to diagnose and there is no proven cure, meaning treatment even if caught early is rarely effective. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: There's a little-known way to nab free flights to Australia, Dubai and more MORE: You're most likely to be scammed buying these medicines online MORE: I saw a kaleidoscopic light after drinking free shots in Laos – then I went blind
Sky News AU
12-08-2025
- Health
- Sky News AU
Urgent health alert issued after deadly parasite discovered in water supplies across rural Queensland towns
An urgent health warning has been issued after a potentially deadly parasite known to cause a fatal brain infection was found in a south-west Queensland's shire's water supply. The Murweh Shire Council said Naegleria fowleri – a single cell amoeba – has been detected in the drinking water of the towns of Augathella and Charleville. Naegleria fowleri is found in warm freshwater environments and soil across Australia. Only one species in this family of organisms is known to cause illness to humans. Infections could occur when water containing the amoeba travels through the nose under pressure. It could lead to a rare and fatal disease known as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) when it gets to the brain. 'Naegleria fowleri is not infectious via drinking or skin contact,' the council's public health notice said. Early symptoms include vomiting, nausea, fever, headache and can lead to stiff neck, seizures, hallucinations and coma. According to the 2021 Census, 328 people live in Augathella and 3,971 reside in Charleville. Murweh Shire Council CEO Bruce Scott said drinking water in both towns was still safe to consume and was not necessary to boil water for drinking, food preparation or for personal hygiene. 'As a precaution, the council is currently arranging the collection of further water samples to identify the extent of Naegleria fowleri colonisation in the drinking water supplies serving the communities of Charleville and Augathella,' Mr Scott said. 'Samples will also be collected from the Morven supply as a precaution.' As the council and Queensland Health continue to monitor the situation, residents are urged to follow precautions to minimise any chance of infection. 'Do not allow water to go up your nose when bathing, showering or washing your face,' the health notice warned. 'Don't put your head under water when bathing or swimming in pools filled with town water that has not been adequately chlorinated. 'Avoid slip-n-slides and other activities where it is difficult to prevent water from going up the nose.' The detection of the organism was discovered by Queensland Health and a university after they conducted comprehensive water quality projects, requiring specialised testing not typically conducted by local water service providers. This marks the first-known confirmation of the parasite in both towns' water supplies. Six Queenslanders have died from complications caused by Naegleria fowleri since 2000. The deaths all came from private water suppliers where property owners are responsible for the supply and management of their own drinking water.
Perth Now
12-08-2025
- Health
- Perth Now
Deadly parasite found in Aussie towns' water
A potentially deadly organism known to cause a fatal brain infection has been detected in a southwest Queensland shire's water supply, prompting an urgent health warning. In a community health notice on August 7, the Murweh Shire Council announced Naegleria fowleri – a single-cell amoeba – had been detected in the drinking water supplying the towns of Augathella and Charleville. The towns had populations of 393 and 3971 respectively, according to the 2021 Census. Queensland Health says Naegleria fowleri is a free-living amoeba that occurs naturally in warm freshwater and soils across Australia. A community health notice from the Murweh Shire Council announced Naegleria fowleri – a single-cell amoeba – had been detected in the drinking water supplying the towns of Augathella (pictured) and Charleville. Supplied Credit: News Regional Media Infections generally occur when water containing the amoeba enters the nose under pressure. It can potentially lead to a rare - but fatal - disease known as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) when it travels to the brain. 'Naegleria fowleri is not infectious via drinking or skin contact,' the council's public health notice states. Murweh Shire Council chief executive Bruce Scott said the drinking water in both Augathella and Charleville was still safe for human consumption and it was not necessary to boil water for drinking, food preparation or for personal hygiene. 'As a precaution, the council is currently arranging the collection of further water samples to identify the extent of Naegleria fowleri colonisation in the drinking water supplies serving the communities of Charleville and Augathella,' Mr Scott said. 'Samples will also be collected from the Morven supply as a precaution.' A fact sheet issued by Queensland Health in relation to the detection confirmed the department was not aware of any illnesses attributable to the drinking water supply in either Charleville or Augathella. The detection of the organism followed a comprehensive water quality project commissioned by Queensland Health and undertaken by a university, which involved specialised testing not typically conducted by local water service providers. It marks the first-known confirmation of Naegleria fowleri in both towns' water supplies. The council has said the drinking water is still safe to consume as infection from the organism only occurs through the nose. Outback Queensland Credit: Supplied But the risk of its presence still exists in unchlorinated water sourced from the Great Artesian Basin, especially where water cools below 40C. Six Queenslanders have died from complications caused by Naegleria fowleri since 2000 – all from private water suppliers where property owners bear the full responsibility for the supply and management of their own drinking water. The first symptoms of Naegleria fowleri start about five days after exposure, but can vary between one and 12 days. Early symptoms include headache, fever, nausea and vomiting and can progress to stiff neck, confusion, inattention to people and surroundings, seizures, hallucinations and coma.
Chicago Tribune
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Madelyn Harrington: What a forgotten civil rights advocate can teach us about studying LBGTQ+ history
Bruce Scott's only obituary was published in the Tribune on Dec. 30, 2001. A meager recounting of his family, friends and neighborhood, the final sentence bluntly tells readers, 'No services will be held.' It's a sparse account for the plaintiff in one of the first successful cases in U.S. history defending gay Americans from discrimination. Four years before the Stonewall uprising, Scott's case created critical protections for gay federal employees and helped end the Lavender Scare, the Cold War campaign to remove gay workers from the federal government. Despite his contributions to gay history, searching for Scott's name online returns but a scant trace. So where did Scott go? Bruce Chardon Scott was born in 1912 and raised on Chicago's South Side. After graduating from college and serving in the Army, he built a career with the Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. For years, he navigated a quiet dual life: a dedicated civil servant and a gay man whose community was Washington's queer nightlife. In February 1956, Scott's careful balance was upturned when his boss came to him with a warning to resign. A security clearance check had found a 1947 arrest for loitering in D.C.'s Lafayette Square, then a known cruising ground for gay men and, as Scott had learned, a site for police entrapment schemes. Though he had not propositioned the undercover officer, he was nonetheless booked. Nine years later, it outed him. Scott became one of thousands of victims of the Lavender Scare. Barred from working for the government or federal contractors, Scott was ineligible for almost any local work. He was plunged into poverty, with years of underpaying jobs, each of which fired him when his arrest came to light. Sometimes, Scott lived on just 50 cents a day. The Virginia home he was building became a leaky, half-finished monument to a life he was no longer allowed to live. But Scott resolved to fight — by suing the U.S. government. In 1961, he wrote to Frank Kameny, a government astronomer who had unsuccessfully fought his termination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Soon, Scott became a founding member of Kameny's Mattachine Society of Washington, a historic organization that popularized gay pride. Scott, under a pseudonym, helped frame its constitution. Scott began to lay the groundwork for his lawsuit. He reapplied to the Department of Labor and made connections at the nascent American Civil Liberties Union of D.C. As expected, the government rejected him over being gay. In 1962, Scott filed suit with ACLU representation against John Macy, chairman of the U.S. Civil Service Commission, which was implementing the Lavender Scare. The filing of Scott v. Macy brought Scott immediate publicity. In an interview with the Washington Evening Star, Scott said he 'realized that his suit would place him in the spotlight' and proclaimed that he hoped to win and become a symbol for gay advancement in America. The case moved slowly, and in the first ruling, a U.S. District Court judge ruled against Scott. He immediately appealed. In late 1963, Scott left D.C. for Chicago. Hundreds of miles removed from the site of his arrest, Scott was finally able to find employment — though even here, being outed to his workplace would mean termination. The preceding years had cost Scott heavily. Before finding work in Chicago, he lost his house and car to debt collection. So, when Scott discovered that his story was to be featured in Life magazine, he knew the national publicity would mean unemployment and yet worse poverty. Where he once welcomed the spotlight, now he wrote to Life to ask for his name to be removed from his story. In June 1964, the story was published. Scott's name was nowhere to be found. The following year, a U.S. Appeals Court delivered a stunning verdict: 2-to-1 for Scott. It found the government could not disqualify an applicant based on a vague charge of homosexual 'immoral conduct,' without specifying the conduct. For the first time, a court had ruled against the federal government's ability to discriminate against gay workers. Congratulations from gay circles poured in from across the country. Thousands of gay federal employees suddenly had a beachhead against discrimination, but Scott's win could not get him his own job back. Rather than appeal to the Supreme Court and risk a ruling there, the government allowed Scott the legal win, while having the Civil Service Commission immediately reopen a new denial of his employment. Scott was devastated, writing that he was right back to where he started. The ACLU filed a further suit on Scott's behalf, winning on a technicality in 1968, but Scott was tired, wryly noting that the commission was 'free to try a third time to bar me.' They never did, and in an odd sort of truce, Scott never reapplied to the federal government either. Scott's case would eventually help end the Lavender Scare. Other cases built on his victory, including Norton v. Macy in 1969, which alongside Scott established a two-case 'homosexual bill of rights.' But Scott continued to protect his professional life. He performed quiet activism in private gay societies but never again sought the spotlight. Scott's story is a case study in how LGBTQ+ minorities can be lost to history. Scott's obscurity was the price he paid to survive. In an era when queer history is once again a political battleground, remembering Scott is not just an act of history, but also a reminder of the cost of fighting for a better world.
Forbes
07-06-2025
- Health
- Forbes
AMA: Doctors And Patients Hurt By ‘Big Beautiful Bill'
The American Medical Association says legislation wending its way through the Republican-controlled ... More Congress would 'take us backward' as a country by cutting health benefits for poor and low-income Americans, the group's president said Friday, June 6. In this photo, the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg The American Medical Association says legislation wending its way through the Republican-controlled Congress would 'take us backward' as a country by cutting health benefits for poor and low-income Americans. Meeting for its annual policy-making House of Delegates this weekend in Chicago, the AMA is rallying physicians to thwart the legislation now before the U.S. Senate. Legislation known as the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' that narrowly passed the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives two weeks ago 'would reduce federal Medicaid spending by $793 billion and that the Medicaid provisions would increase the number of uninsured people by 7.8 million,' a KFF analysis shows. 'We have to turn our anger into action,' AMA President Bruce A. Scott, M.D. said in a speech to AMA delegates Friday. 'I know our patience is being tested by this new administration and Congress.' The AMA said it has launched a 'grassroots campaign targeted at the Senate' in hopes of making changes to the legislation. The AMA is the nation's largest physician group with more than 200,000 members. 'The same House bill that brings us closer to finally tying future Medicare payments to the rising costs of running a practice, also takes us backwards by limiting access to care for millions of lower-income Americans,' Scott said. 'Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act are literal lifelines for children and families for whom subsidized health coverage is their only real option. We must do all we can to protect this safety net and continue to educate lawmakers on how best to target waste and fraud in the system without making it tougher for vulnerable populations to access care.' Scott, an otolaryngologist from Kentucky, said the Medicare physician payment system is broken and Congress hasn't addressed – as an increasing number of states have – prior authorization, the process of health insurers reviewing hospital admissions and medications. Prior authorization delays needed treatment and puts patient health in jeopardy, doctors say. 'I'm angry because the dysfunction in health care today goes hand in hand with years of dysfunction in Congress,' Scott added. 'I'm angry because physicians are bearing the brunt of a failed Medicare payment system. And while our pay has been cut by more than 33 percent in 25 years, we see hospitals and even health insurance companies receiving annual pay increases.' Meanwhile, the AMA says cuts to physician payments are pushing more physicians away from private practice and exacerbating the nation's doctor shortage. A recent analysis by AMN Healthcare shows only two in five physicians are now in doctor-owned private practices. And Americans in most U.S. cities face waits of at least one month before they can see certain specialists. 'Congress needs to know there is no 'care' in Medicare if there are no doctors," Scott said.
