Symptoms of the disease include headache, fever, vomiting, nausea, and seizures.
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A Missouri man who allegedly became infected with a brain-eating amoeba while swimming in an Iowa lakewhich closed when the case was known, died, health officials reported.
On July 7, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported a possible case of Naegleria Flowleri, colloquially called a brain-eating amoeba.
As a precaution, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services he noted a day later that the lake was closed to swimming.
The department added that testing was being done in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). to confirm that it was a Naegleria Flowleri case in the Iowa lake.
Meanwhile, the patient, whose identity has not been revealed, was kept in the intensive care unit for primary amoebic meningoencephalitisa brain infection caused by an amoeba, health officials said.
Since then, the patient had been fighting for his life, but died due to the infection, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
“Although the occurrence of Naegleria Fowleri infection is extremely rare, once infected it is usually fatal.Lisa Cox, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Health, stated in a statement sent to ABC News on Saturday.
“Because these cases are so incredibly rare and out of respect for the family, we do not intend to release any additional information regarding the patient that might lead to the identification of the individual,” Cox added.
The degree of danger of this rare disease is such, that of the 154 known cases of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis reported in the United States between 1962 and 2021, only four people survivedthe CDC said.
“These situations are extremely rare in the United States and in Missouri specifically, but it is important for people to be aware that infection is a possibility so that they can seek medical care in a timely manner if related symptoms occur,” said Missouri State Epidemiologist , Dr. George Tuabelidze, in a statement.
Symptoms of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis include severe headache, nausea, fever, vomiting, stiff neck, and seizures.
A Naegleria Fowleri infection can manifest in the body when water containing the amoeba enters the body through the nose. From there it might travel to the brain to destroy brain tissue.
With information from ABC News
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