A Florida man has died due to a brain-consuming microorganism.
The Florida Department of Health in Charlotte (DOH-Charlotte) announced on February 23 that a man had perished due to a type of amoeba known as Naegleria fowleri.
Naegleria is a type of microscopic amoeba typically found in warm freshwater sources, recreational pools, tap water, water heaters, and soil. The CDC reports that Naegleria fowleri is the only variant that can infect humans.
This amoeba has also been found in Texas waters. A child contracted the infection and died as a result in September 2020.
This microorganism enters the body through the nose if a person is in contact with water containing the amoeba, resulting in an infection known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis. Floridian officials believe this most recent case may have been caused by rinsing practices with tap water.
This type of amoeba consumes brain tissue upon infection, which results in swelling and subsequent death. Symptoms of infection include fever, nausea, vomiting, and more, with death typically following five days after infection.
The DOH-Charlotte, however, stressed that infections are rare.
“You CANNOT be infected by drinking tap water,” said officials in the release.
The CDC reported that between zero and five cases of infection had been documented in the United States each year between 2012 and 2021, reaching a total of 31 cases. Of these infections, 28 were from recreational water, two were from rinsing sinuses with infected tap water, and one was from water in a backyard slip-and-slide.
Of the 154 known cases in the United States recorded from 1962 to 2021, only four have survived, according to the CDC.
Officials recommend that civilians rinse their sinuses with distilled or sterile water, disinfect recreational water and pools, prevent water from potentially contaminated sources from entering their noses, and prohibit unsupervised children from playing with hoses or sprinklers.