A person recently died in Florida after becoming infected with a rare “brain-eating” amoeba, Naegleria fowleri.
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The patient became infected with tap water after using “sinus rinse,” according to the Charlotte County Health Department.
“An epidemiological investigation is underway to understand the circumstances of the infection. I can only confirm that the person concerned is deceased. Medical confidentiality does not allow us to provide any other information,” spokesman Jae Williams told CNN.
The health authorities remind that this is the case It is always recommended to use bottled water or boiled tap water Use products like Sinus Rinse.
Amoebic meningoencephalitis only occurs when water contaminated by the amoeba enters the body through the nose.
Unboiled tap water is not safe unless it has been properly filtered or treated.
Several microorganisms such as bacteria or protozoa, including amoebas, can be found there.
However, there is no risk of infection from drinking tap water, since the gastric acid in the stomach kills these germs.
Several fatal cases of amoebic meningoencephalitis in lake bathers have been recorded in the United States in recent years.
From 1962 to 2021, only four out of 154 people survived, according to the CDC.