A man in Florida, USA, has died after contracting a brain-eating amoeba, as a result of a common habit.
Infectious disease specialist: Most of the "brain-eating amoeba" infections recorded in the United States
And the medical authorities in Florida indicated that the man was infected with the brain-eating amoeba through his nose, as a result of washing his sinuses, using tap water, which was likely to have been contaminated with it.
And the Florida Department of Health stated, on the 23rd of last February, that it is looking into how the man became infected, and is working in partnership with the competent authorities to coordinate any changes it finds necessary to contain the bacteria and prevent its spread.
And the US CDC confirmed that although the man was infected with a brain-eating amoeba from tap water, the tap water in the region is still safe to drink, because the amoeba is a rare single-celled organism, and it can infect humans only through the nose.
And the medical authority indicated that this was the first case of a person being infected with amoebiasis through tap water in Florida, and it was also the first case reported in the United States this year, and the first in the winter.
And health authorities in the United States called on residents to use only distilled or sterile water when making sinus rinse solutions, and to seek immediate medical assistance if they noticed any symptoms of a brain-eating amoeba, such as: headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, loss of balance or hallucinations.
According to data from medical authorities in the United States, the total number of brain-eating amoeba infections in the United States did not exceed 31, between 2012 and 2021.
Infection with brain-eating amoeba can occur when entering water contaminated with amoeba through the nose, which is then transmitted to the brain, by swimming or diving in freshwater lakes, or when contaminated tap water enters the nose, as is the case when cleaning the sinuses. It is spread by infection from person to person.
Source: foxweather.com + wglt.org