CNN Indonesia
Saturday, 04 Mar 2023 22:22 WIB
Amoeba illustration. A person in Charlotte County, Florida, has died after being infected with a brain-eating amoeba. (iStockphoto/Dr_Microbe)
Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
A person in Charlotte County, Florida, died in early February after being infected with the brain-eating amoeba, Naegleria fowleri. Now the Florida Department of Health says he may have been infected by rinsing his nose with tap water.
“Epidemiological investigations are currently being conducted to understand the unique circumstances of this infection. I can confirm that the infection unfortunately resulted in death, and any additional information about this case is being withheld to protect patient privacy,” said Jae Williams, Florida Department of Health press secretary in a statement quoted from CNN, Thursday (2/4).
Because of this incident, the Florida Department of Health is advising the public to only use distilled or sterile water when making nasal rinse solutions.
Tap water should also be boiled for at least one minute and cooled before being used for rinsing.
According to the United States Food and Drug Administration, tap water that has not been sterilized is unsafe for use as a nasal rinse because it is not filtered or treated adequately, and so may contain low levels of microorganisms such as bacteria and protozoa, including amoebas.
However, people cannot become infected by drinking tap water because stomach acid usually kills the organisms.
Meanwhile, Naegleria fowleri is an amoeba that can be found in warm ground and fresh water, such as lakes, rivers, and hot springs throughout the United States.
Amoebas can cause brain infections, which usually occur when water containing the amoeba rises through the nose, such as during swimming.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about three people in the US are infected with the amoeba each year with effects that are usually lethal.
From 1962 to 2021, only four out of 154 people in the US will survive infection with the brain-eating amoeba. Last year, a boy died from an infection after swimming in Lake Mead. Another child in Nebraska died of an infection after swimming, and a Missourian died from an infection after visiting a beach in Iowa.
Early symptoms of infection are severe headache, fever, nausea and vomiting and may progress to a stiff neck, seizures, hallucinations and coma.
The infection can be treated with a combination of drugs, including the antibiotic azithromycin, the antifungal fluconazole, the antimicrobial drug miltefosine, and the corticosteroid dexamethasone.
(feb/vws)
