On Thursday, health authorities in Florida in the US confirmed that a man has died after being infected by a very deadly brain-eating amoeba.
It was on 23 February this year that the Ministry of Health in Florida announced that a man had been infected, and that it was probably due to tap water.
Health experts in Florida say the victim likely contracted the infection after rinsing his nasal sinuses with tap water, according to BBC.
Officials across several different agencies are now investigating how this infection originated, said spokesperson for the state health system, Jae William, on Thursday, writes the BBC.
At the same time, he confirmed the death.
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Rare
It is very rare to be infected with the brain-eating amoeba, also called Naegleria fowleri. However, it is not unusual for one to become infected precisely through the nose, when it first occurs.
Both the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health write that infections are almost always fatal.
The amoeba usually lives in warm fresh water such as swimming pools, lakes and ponds.
The Institute of Public Health writes on its website that the amoeba causes severe encephalitis with a very high mortality rate, and that the disease often affects younger, healthy people.
FHI also writes that, in addition to swimming in lakes, rivers and uncleared pools, nasal irrigation is a known risk factor for becoming infected.
It is primarily in the case of infection through the nose that it poses a risk. If the infection occurs through the mouth, stomach acid will usually kill the organism, writes the BBC.
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Avoid water in the nose
According to the CDC, about three Americans are infected each year by the disease. From 1962 to 2021, only four of 154 people who contracted the disease in the United States survived.
Officials in Florida are now warning the public not to rinse their nasal passages with untreated tap water.
In addition, people are advised to avoid getting water in the nose while in swimming pools, baths or showers.
In 2014, one person died in Norway after being infected in Thailand. Probably also due to nasal rinses with unboiled water from the tap, writes FHI.
