Woman dies of ‘brain-eating amoeba’ infection from tap water

A Florida resident died following being infected with a “brain-eating amoeba”, relayed CNN last week. Contamination by Naegleria fowleri remains very rare but this time it is taken very seriously by the health authorities. And for good reason: the American would have been contaminated by rinsing her sinuses with tap water, says Charlotte County’s Florida Department of Health in a statement.

“An epidemiological investigation is underway to understand the unique circumstances of this infection,” said the health department press officer. In the meantime, users are advised not to use potable tap water to make sinus rinse solutions. Drinking water should not be a problem, as Naegleria fowleri are normally destroyed by stomach acid.

High mortality

Amoeba infection occurs when contaminated water enters the body through the sinuses. This parasite can be present in wet soils or fresh water (lakes, rivers, hot springs, etc.). The main symptoms are headaches, nausea, vomiting, then hallucinations and convulsions leading to coma.

According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of three people are infected each year. In the vast majority of cases, they do not survive the infection which reaches the cerebral system. Only four out of 154 patients recovered from a brain-eating amoeba between 1962 and 2021. Last year, two children died in the United States following swimming in lakes, recalls CNN.