Florida health officials say a man recently died from a brain-eating amoeba called Naegleria fowleri—an infection likely caught from rinsing his sinuses with tap water. These infections are incredibly rare but almost always lethal, and they have been previously linked to nasal rinsing, such as through the use of neti pots. As a result, it’s recommended that people only use sterile or recently boiled water when performing this activity.
In late February, the Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County reported on a case of a resident infected with N. fowleri, adding that the person had possibly contracted the infection through nasal rinsing with tap water. Local media outlet Fox 4 subsequently reached out to the health department as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, both of which provided more details. The resident was a man who died of his infection on February 20. And he reportedly rinsed his sinuses with unboiled tap water every day.
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N. fowleri is a shapeshifting amoeba that commonly lives in soil and warm freshwater environments. It normally feeds on bacteria, and when it’s accidentally ingested through water, it can’t cause any trouble. But when it enters the body through the nose, it can migrate up to the brain. Once inside, the amoeba quite literally eats brain cells and also triggers massive inflammation, resulting in a condition called primary amebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM. Initial symptoms include severe headaches, fever, and nausea, which then quickly progress to neurological problems like seizures, hallucinations, and coma.
Read more: Gizmodo
