Florida man dies of rare ‘brain-eating’ amoeba infection

A person in Charlotte County, Florida, in the United States, has died after being infected with the rare “brain-eating” amoeba, Naegleria fowleri.

The infection possibly resulted from “sinus lavage practices using tap water,” according to a press release from the Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County. The advisory was issued in February to alert the public to the infection.

On Thursday (2), the department confirmed that the infected person died and authorities continue to investigate the case.

“An epidemiological investigation is being conducted to understand the unique circumstances of this infection. I can confirm that the infection unfortunately resulted in one death, and any further information regarding this case is confidential to protect patient privacy,” Jae Williams, Department of Health press secretary, said in an emailed statement. .

The infection by Naegleria fowleri “It can only happen when water contaminated with amoebae enters the body through the nose,” according to the department’s press release.

The Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County has warned residents to use only distilled or sterile water when making nasal rinse solutions. Tap water should be boiled for at least a minute and cooled before using it to rinse the sinuses, which usually involves a sanitizer.

Tap water that has not been sterilized is not safe to use as a nasal rinse, as it is not properly filtered or treated and therefore may contain low levels of microorganisms such as bacteria and protozoa, including amoebas, according to the Food website. and Drug Administration (FDA). However, people cannot become infected by drinking tap water, as stomach acid usually kills these organisms.

What is the “brain-eating” amoeba?

Naegleria fowleri It is an amoeba, a single-celled living organism that can be found in soil and warm fresh water such as lakes, rivers, and hot springs in the United States. Commonly called the “brain-eating amoeba”, it can cause brain infections, which usually happens when water containing amoeba rises through the nose, such as when swimming.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about three people in the US are infected each year, and these infections are often deadly.

From 1962 to 2021, only four out of 154 people in the U.S. survived a “brain-eating” amoeba infection, according to the CDC. Last year, a boy died of the infection after swimming in Lake Mead, another Nebraska child died of the infection after swimming, and a Missouri resident died of the infection after visiting a beach in Iowa.

Signs and symptoms of infection are initially severe headache, fever, nausea and vomiting and may progress to stiff neck, seizures, hallucinations and coma. The infection is treated with a combination of drugs, including the antibiotic azithromycin, the antifungal fluconazole, the antimicrobial miltefosine, and the corticosteroid dexamethasone.