(WJW) – A Texas woman has died after contracting a rare infection from a brain-eating amoeba while using tap water to clear out her sinuses at an RV campground, according to a recent report.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published the death investigation in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report last Thursday, stating that the patient was an otherwise healthy 71-year-old.
According to the report, she started experiencing serious symptoms like a fever, headache, and “altered mental status” within four days of using a nasal irrigation device filled with tap water.
The woman received medical treatment for the suspected Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM) infection, but according to the report, she started having seizures and died eight days after the symptoms started.
Through an investigation, the CDC confirmed that Naegleria fowleri was found in the woman’s cerebrospinal fluid.
Brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri protozoans in trophozoite form, computer illustration. This organism is an opportunistic pathogen of humans, causing meningoencephalitis (inflammation of the brain and its surrounding membranes) when inhaled, often by children swimming in fresh water. Headaches, vomiting, sensory disturbance and a fatal coma may occur if the victim is not treated. Treatment is with antiprotozoal drugs. Infectious stage for humans are trophozoites and flagellate form. (Getty Images)
According to the CDC, Naegleria fowleri, commonly known as the “brain-eating amoeba,” is a one-celled organism that lives in freshwater lakes, rivers, and hot springs.
“If water containing the ameba goes up the nose and to the brain, it can cause an infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM),” the CDC said. “Typically, fewer than 10 people a year in the United States get PAM. Nearly everyone who gets PAM dies from it.”
According to medical records, between 1962 and 2023, the United States reported 164 cases of PAM. Of those cases, only four patients survived.
The Texas Department of State Health Services determined that the Texas woman did not have recreational exposure to fresh water, but she reportedly used non-boiled water taken from an RV water system for nasal irrigation “on several occasions.”
The CDC urges the public to take the following precautions to avoid getting the dangerous infection:
Hold your nose or wear a nose clip if you are jumping or diving into fresh water.
Always keep your head above water in hot springs.
Don’t dig in shallow water because the ameba is more likely to live there.
Use distilled or boiled tap water when rinsing your sinuses or cleansing your nasal passages.
At least two deaths related to brain-eating amoeba infections brought on by neti pot use were reported last year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
