美国再现"食脑虫"

A rare brain-eating amoeba that killed a six-year-old boy has been found in the water supply of a city in southeastern Texas, prompting environmental officials to take steps to flush and disinfect the pipes.

一种少见的食脑虫在德克萨斯州的西南方供水处被发现了，这种虫子已经造成一位6岁男孩的死亡。环境执法人员已经开始冲刷和消毒供水管。

Josiah McIntyre, who had just started elementary school in Lake Jackson, fell ill in the first week of September with a headache and flu-like symptoms. Days later, after a battery of tests, doctors at Texas Children's Hospital determined that he had been infected by Naegleria fowleri, a microscopic amoeba found in rivers, lakes and hot springs. If ingested through the nose it can cause primary amebic meningoencephalitis, a rare debilitating disease that is usually fatal.

约西亚·麦金太尔，一名在杰克逊湖区刚开始读小学的学生，在九月开学的第一周感到不适和头痛，接着伴随着流感相似的症状。几天后，经过一连串的考试，在德克萨斯州儿童医院的医生诊断出他感染了福氏纳格里阿米巴原虫，一种微型变形虫，这种虫常出现于野生河，湖泊以及热泉中。这种变形虫会通过鼻子进入人体，一旦感染会导致阿米巴性脑膜脑炎，一种少见且致死性的衰弱型疾病。