See Also: Aleut health(health)
Aleut(dictionary)
Aleut(encyclopedia)
Eskimo-Aleut languages(encyclopedia)
Divine Providence Health Center Avera Health(health)
Dells Area Health Center Avera Health(health)
Hegg Memorial Health Center Avera Health(health)
health(dictionary)
health spa(dictionary)
health(dictionary)

Acanthamoeba (health) and Aleut (sh)


Acanthamoeba (health)


A microscopic organism, an amoeba, found in soil, dust and fresh water (lakes, rivers, hot springs and hot tubs). Acanthamoeba also occur in brackish water and sea water as well as in heating, venting, and air conditioner units, humidifiers, and dialysis units. Acanthamoeba can enter the skin through a cut, wound, or through the nostrils and, once inside the body, can Travel to the lungs and through the bloodstream to Other parts of the body, especially to the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). Through improper storage, handling, and disinfection of contact lenses, Acanthamoeba can enter the eye and there cause infection. A particularly dire infection caused by Acanthamoeba called granulomatous amebic encephalitis is characterized by headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, confusion, loss of balance, seizures, and coma that can progress over several weeks and end in death. Acanthamoeba infections occur more frequently in people with compromised immune systems and the chronically ill. Eye and skin infections are generally treatable while infections of the brain are almost always fatal.





Aleut (sh)




Any native of the Aleutian Islands and western portion of the Alaska Peninsula.

The name Aleut, used in 1745 by Russian fur traders from the Kamchatka Peninsula, refers primarily to the people of the Aleutian Islands, who call themselves Unangan or Unangas, but also by extension to the Pacific Yupik, who call themselves Alutiit (plural of Alutiiq), an adaptation of the Russian name. Aleuts speak two main dialects and are physically and culturally closely related to the Eskimo. Traditional Aleut villages were located on the seashore near fresh water, where the people hunted marine mammals, fish, birds, caribou, and bear. Aleut women wove fine grass basketry; stone, bone, and ivory were also worked. After the arrival of the Russians in the 18th century, their population declined drastically. Some 6,600 people claimed sole Aleut ancestry in the 2000 U.S. census.