A person in Florida has been infected with a rare and usually deadly brain-eating amoeba, according to health officials.
The Florida Department of Health announced Friday that a patient in Hillsborough County has been infected with Naegleria fowleri, a single-celled microscopic amoeba that attacks the brain.
“Infections can occur when contaminated water enters the body through the nose,” said the health department.
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The amoeba can cause a rare brain infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (MAP) that destroys brain tissue and is usually fatal.
Naegleria fowleri, the brain-eating amoeba that causes primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, can be caught in places with warm water.
(CDC.gov)
Once the amoeba enters the nose through contaminated water, health officials say it then travels to the brain where it causes PAM.
“Infections generally occur when temperatures rise for prolonged periods of time, resulting in higher water temperatures and lower water levels,” health officials said.
The peak season for this amoeba is July, August, and September, where it can be found in many warm freshwater lakes, ponds, canals, and rivers in the United States. It is more common in the southern states.
Health officials did not say where in Hillsborough County the infection was reported or any details about the patient, FOX13 reported.
According to health officials, there have only been 37 reported cases of exposure in Florida since 1962.
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Health officials have warned those who frequently swim and dive in Florida’s lakes, rivers and ponds during warm temperatures about the possible presence of Naegleria fowleri. Adverse health effects can be prevented by avoiding nasal contact with water, as the amoeba enters the nostrils.
Naegleria fowleri, the amoeba that eats the brain and causes primary amoebic meningoencephalitis.
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Here are the following recommendations from health officials:
- Avoid water-related activities in warm freshwater bodies, hot springs, and thermally contaminated water, such as the water around power plants.
- Avoid water-related activities in warm temperate water during periods of high water temperature and low water levels.
- Keep your nose closed or use nose clips when participating in water-related activities in temperate freshwater bodies such as lakes, rivers, or hot springs.
- Avoid digging or removing sediment while participating in water-related activities in shallow, warm areas of fresh water.
- Exposure to the amoeba can also occur when using neti pots to rinse the sinuses of cold / allergy-related congestion or perform religious rituals with tap water. Use only boiled and chilled, distilled, or sterile water to make sinus rinse solutions for pots or perform ritual ablutions.
Anyone experiencing headaches, fever, nausea, disorientation, vomiting, stiff neck, seizures, loss of balance, or hallucinations after swimming in warm water should contact their healthcare provider immediately.
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“It is essential to seek medical attention immediately, as the disease progresses rapidly after the onset of symptoms,” said the health department.
