A bootlegger is a person who sells alcohol off hours. Orriginally a bootlegger was a person who smuggled contraband onto a ship in the long boots made of waxed leather used to keep dry when entering and exiting small boats used to get to and from a ship at anchor.
Amoebas are single-celled organisms. The so-called brain-eating amoeba is a species discovered in 1965 and formally named Naegleria fowleri. Although first identified in Australia, this amoeba is believed to have evolved in the United States. There are several species of naegleria, but only the N. fowleri species causes human disease. Like other amoebas, naegleria reproduce by cell division. When conditions are less than optimal, amoebas become inactive cysts. When conditions are favorable, the cysts turn into trophozoites -- their feeding form.
The Arkansas case is the first confirmed one of 2013, Cope said. In the last decade from 2003 to 2012, 31 infections have been reported in the U.S. Naegleria fowleri is thermophilic, or heat-loving. Most infections occur during July, August and September when there is prolonged heat and thus higher water temperatures and lower water levels. This graph from the CDC shows the number of cases of PAM by state of exposure in the U.S. from 1962-2012. When we go back and look at where exposure may have occurred, we see the infections occur where water levels are low or where there are drought conditions or after a heat wave, Cope said.