9 things to know about the 'brain eating amoeba' that killed a Florida resident

An investigation is underway after a Florida resident died from a rare "brain-eating" infection.

A microscopic amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, may have been contracted from tap water.

The Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County reported in late February the person may have been infected after using tap water as a sinus rinse.

"DOH-Charlotte, as part of a multi-agency response, is continuing to investigate how this infection occurred and is working with the local public utilities to identify any potential links and make any necessary corrective actions," the department said on its website.

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What is the 'brain-eating amoeba' that caused the Florida resident's death?

Naegleria fowleri is a microscopic, single-celled living amoeba. Infection with Naegleria fowleri is rare and can only happen when water contaminated with the amoeba enters the body through the nose. Infection does not happen by drinking infected water.

In rare situations, the amoeba can cause an infection of the brain called primary amebic meningoencephalitis.

Where is the 'brain-eating amoeba' found?

Naegleria fowleri loves heat and grows best at temperatures up to 115 degrees, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Naegleria fowleri is found in warm freshwater environments such as lakes and rivers, naturally hot water such as hot springs, warm-water discharge from industrial or power plants, geothermal well water, poorly maintained or minimally chlorinated swimming pools, water heaters, and soil, where it lives by feeding on bacteria and other microbes in the environment.

Naegleria fowleri is present in many southern lakes in the U.S. during the summer, but infections have recently occurred in northern states.

The amoeba is not found in salt water.

Why is it called the 'brain-eating amoeba'?

It is commonly called the “brain-eating ameba” because it can cause a brain infection.

How do people get infected by the brain-eating amoeba?

People become infected when water containing Naegleria fowleri enters the nose and the ameba migrates to the brain along the olfactory nerve. People do not become infected from drinking contaminated water.

Infections have primarily occurred in 15 southern states, with almost half of all infections occurring in Texas and Florida, the CDC reported.

How dangerous is Naegleria fowleri?

About three people in the United States get infected each year. The infections are almost always fatal, the CDC said.

Only four out of 154 people in the United States have survived infection from 1962 to 2021.

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What are the symptoms of PAM, primary amebic meningoencephalitis?

Signs and symptoms of Naegleria fowleri infection are similar to bacterial meningitis, which lowers the chances of diagnosing PAM at first. PAM is difficult to detect because the disease progresses rapidly, the CDC added.

Symptoms start one to 12 days after swimming or exposure to water containing the amoeba. People die one to 18 days after symptoms begin.

Symptoms in the first stage include:

• Severe frontal headache

• Fever

• Nausea

• Vomiting

In the second stage, symptoms include:

• Stiff neck

• Seizures

• Altered mental status

• Hallucinations

• Coma

How can you avoid being infected by the amoeba?

The Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County suggested the following to minimize the chances for infection:

• When making sinus rinse solutions, use only distilled or sterile water. Tap water should be boiled for at least 1 minute and cooled before rinsing your sinuses.

• Do not allow water to go up your nose or sniff water into your nose when bathing, showering, washing your face, or swimming in small hard plastic/blow-up pools.

• Do not jump into or put your head under bathing water (bathtubs, small hard plastic/blow-up pools). Walk or lower yourself in.

• Do not allow children to play unsupervised with hoses or sprinklers, as they may accidentally squirt water up their nose. Avoid slip-n-slides or other activities where it is difficult to prevent water going up the nose.

• Keep small hard plastic or blow-up pools clean by emptying, scrubbing, and allowing them to dry after each use.

• Keep your swimming pool adequately disinfected before and during use.

Can you avoid the 'brain-eating amoeba' when swimming?

Naegleria fowleri occurs naturally in freshwater bodies, such as lakes, rivers, and hot springs. While infectionsare rare, they occur mainly during the warmer months of July, August, and September. Infections usually occur when temperatures are hot, which results in higher water temperatures and lower water levels.

The only sure way to prevent an infection is to avoid water-related activities in warm fresh water, especially during summer.

Reduce the risk of infection by trying to prevent water from going up your nose. The CDC offered these suggestions:

• Avoid jumping or diving into bodies of warm fresh water, especially during the summer.

• Hold your nose shut, use nose clips, or keep your head above water when in bodies of warm fresh water.

• Avoid putting your head under water in hot springs and other untreated geothermal waters.

• Avoid digging in, or stirring up, the sediment in shallow, warm fresh water. The amebae are more likely to live in sediment at the bottom of lakes, ponds, and rivers.

What if the amoeba is in the tap water?

While most Naegleria fowleri infections are associated with swimming in warm freshwater lakes and rivers, very rarely, the amoeba has caused deaths associated with tap or faucet water going up the nose.

Naegleria fowleri can grow in public and private water tanks and pipes, especially where little or no disinfectant (like chlorine or chloramine) is present. It can also grow in the pipes and water heaters of homes and buildings.

Naegleria fowleri infections have been reported when people put their heads underwater, rinse their sinuses through the nose, and cleanse their noses during religious practices using contaminated tap or faucet water.

If rinsing your sinuses:

• Use water that has been previously boiled for 1 minute and left to cool.

• Use water with a label specifying that it is distilled or sterile water.

• If you are unable to use boiled, sterile, distilled or filtered water, you can use chlorine bleach to treat the water. Learn how to use bleach to disinfect your water.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Naegleri fowleri: Deadly amoeba in waters moves up nose into brain