Brain-eating amoeba: 1 case in Florida, officials say avoid tap water

• A Florida resident was infected with a rare and dangerous brain-eating amoeba.
• This amoeba is incredibly rare, with only 34 confirmed infections in the United States between 2009 and 2018.
• The Florida Department of Health has warned residents to avoid nasal contact with tap water and to avoid swimming in warm fresh water.
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The Florida Department of Health warns Hillsborough County residents to avoid nasal contact with tap water after confirming that someone in the region has been infected by a rare brain-eating amoeba.

The department did not specify where the infected person was in the western coastal county, which contains the city of Tampa, but issued a warning on July 3 that discourages people from swimming and diving in freshwater lakes, rivers and ponds.

Naegleria fowleri, an amoeba of the heat-loving, single-celled organism, is generally found in warm fresh water and typically infects people when contaminated water enters the body through the nose, according to the CDC.

Once the microscopic amoeba enters the body, it travels to the brain, where it destroys brain tissue and generally leads to death within a week.

Health officials recommended that people use nose clips while swimming in warm fresh water and avoid water-related activities in these areas during the warmer summer months.

Naegleria fowleri infections are rare in the U.S.

In the 10 years between 2009 and 2018, only 34 infections were reported in the United States. Of these cases, 30 became infected in the water, 3 became infected after using contaminated tap water to irrigate their noses, and one person became infected with contaminated water while on a slip and slide in the backyard, the CDC reported.

Naegleria fowleri only affects people when they enter the body through the nose. People cannot become infected with Naegleria fowleri by drinking contaminated water, and it does not spread through water vapor or spray drops. An infected person cannot pass the infection on to anyone else.

Symptoms of a possible disease include headache, fever, nausea, disorientation, vomiting, stiff neck, seizures, loss of balance, or hallucinations. There have only been 37 cases of Naegleria fowleri in Florida since the 1960s, the BBC reported.

The amoeba thrives at temperatures of 115 degrees Fahrenheit, is typically found in the warmer southern states, and survives by eating bacteria found in lake and river sediment.

The death rate from this infection is 97%. Only four of 145 known infected individuals have survived.

There is no test to detect Naegleria fowleri in water, so “recreational water users must assume that Naegleria fowleri is present in warm freshwater across the United States,” says the CDC.

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