Dear Neighbor,
At a meeting in Glenwood yesterday, the Minnesota Dept. of Health announced the recent tragic death of an Alexandria teen-ager was not caused by an amoeba in Lake Minnewaska. Rather, the death was due to another illness caused by infection with the bacteria streptococcus. The Dept. put out a press release back on July 7 saying the suspected cause was PAM, a very rare disease associated with a virus that is carried by amoeba and that can be present in warm bodies of water. The original announcement was based on clinical and laboratory findings reported to MDH by the child's health care team.
Dr. Ed Ehlinger, commissioner of MDH, told those of us attending yesterday's meeting that his department went with the best available evidence. He said, "There were enough indicators that it could be PAM, and the decision was made to get the information out to the public."
Several Lake Minnewaska resort owners were also at the meeting, and they indicated that their businesses were hurt in the days following the announcement. Their frustration is understandable as they had no warning when the announcement first came out late in the afternoon back in July. It was generally agreed by those in attendance that it's a difficult call as to when to make such announcements, but MDH officials said they would always prioritize on the side of public safety.
In a press release the department said, "In public health, we often have to make decisions to take action based on sometimes incomplete information that is based on the evidence and facts that we have at the time a decision needs to be made."
It has taken six weeks for all the information to be gathered. The test results from the Centers for Disease Control came back late last week. Now, we'll see if the media covers this part of the story and gets the word out.
Horizon Public Health, of which Pope County is a member, released a statement, saying in part, "The lab results help bring clarity to the situation, but do not lessen the tragic nature of this case. The results also do not change the fact that there is a very, very low risk that this amoeba and many other bacteria, even though not the cause of death in this case, could exist in any freshwater lake. However, this should not prevent you from enjoying Lake Minnewaska or any other Minnesota lakes."
Faith and I send our condolences Hunter's family during what must be such a trying time. God bless.
Sincerely,
Paul