Brain-eating amoeba kills Florida man
Author of the article:Liz Braun
Published Mar 02, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
Naegleria fowleri
Naegleria fowleri PHOTO BY TWITTER /Toronto Sun
A rare, brain-eating amoeba may sound like an invention of The X-Files, but it’s real in Florida.
NBC news reports that health officials in Charlotte County confirm one man is dead after rinsing his sinuses with tap water.
A February 23 press release from the Florida Department of Health – Charlotte said one case of infection with the amoeba Naegleria fowleri was indeed linked to tap water in the nasal passages.
Infection with Naegleria fowleri is rare, the release emphasizes, and can only happen when water contaminated with amoebae enters the body through the nose — you can’t be infected by drinking tap water.
Inadequate chlorination could account for N Fowleri being in tap water.
The organism is found in fresh water and soil around the world, and thrives in high temperatures.
Infections are usually reported in summer and are usually pegged to swimming in warm lakes or rivers; climate change has seen infection reports steadily climbing northward.
DOH-Charlotte, meanwhile, continues to investigate and has advised residents to use only distilled or sterile water when preparing sinus rinse solutions, which means using boiled water that has boiled at least one minute, and then cooled.
It is also advised not to let water get up the nose when bathing, showering or swimming. People are instructed to neither jump into the water nor submerge their head when swimming.
Children should not be allowed to run through the sprinkler or play unsupervised with a water hose. Small wading pools and plastic pools used by children should be emptied and scrubbed, and allowed to dry before being used again.
Anyone who swims in warm lakes or rivers and then has symptoms such as headache, fever, nausea, confusion, seizures, loss of balance or hallucinations, should seek immediate medical help.
Once symptoms appear, the disease progresses quickly. Patients usually die within 18 days.
The Centre for Disease Control reported three confirmed cases of N. fowleri in 2022 in fresh water exposures in Iowa, Nebraska, and Arizona. Three cases were also reported every year in each of the three years prior.
View attachment 17526
The organisms' expanded range may be due to increased temperatures from climate change.
livescience.com
Charlotte County, Fla. — The Florida Department of Health (DOH-Charlotte) in Charlotte County has confirmed one Florida case recently infected with Naegleria fowleri, possibly as a result of sinus rinse practices utilizing tap water.
charlotte.floridahealth.gov
Such infections are very rare, and people cannot be infected by drinking tap water, state health officials in Charlotte County said.
nbcnews.com
A rare, brain-eating amoeba may sound like an invention of The X-Files, but it’s real in Florida.
torontosun.com