You may have heard about this on the news, but just in case, I thought it wise to spread the word.  Two children in Tulsa, OK have died from an amoeba called Naegleria that is considered to be fatal once contracted.  From the article on http://www.ktul.com, “...the Naegleria amoeba is found worldwide, but is most commonly found in warm bodies of fresh water such as lakes, rivers and hot springs. The organism can also be found in under-chlorinated swimming pools.” How many of us have swam in lakes though the years, and are planning to visit a body of fresh water this summer?  This is truly scary, and makes me want to carry a device to measure water bacteria levels wherever I go.  The semi-good news is that this Naegleria is pretty rare.  There have only been 200 known cases over the last 40 years, so your odds of catching it are pretty low.  But still, when it comes to our kids’ safety, many parents measure in absolutes vs. odds, and I’m still mulling over the bacteria counting device idea.

I’m probably one of those psycho over-protective moms, but seriously, this one freaks me out a bit.  The American family revels in lakeside fun, and growing up at a desert lake, I never heard of bacteria-infested water.  Of course, I probably had a better chance of ingesting motor oil from speedboats than anything, but that’s beside the point.  The best we can do as parents today is be aware that this stuff exists and do our best to avoid it.