A person in Charlotte County, Florida, was recently sickened by a single-celled organism that can cause a rare,"brain-eating infection," possibly as a result of rinsing their sinuses with unfiltered tap water, health officials reported . No information was provided on the person's condition, but the infection is typically fatal.
The organism, an amoeba called Naegleria fowleri, typically lives in soil and warm fresh water and can sometimes grow in water tanks, heaters and pipes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . In rare instances, it can infiltrate the human body and cause a disease of the brain and spinal cord called primary amebic meningoencephalitis , the CDC says. People can't develop PAM by swallowing N.
Symptoms of the infection emerge between one and 12 days after N. fowleri enters the nose, and the infection is almost always fatal — people typically die one to 18 days after symptoms begin. On Thursday , the Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County announced that it had confirmed a local case of N. fowleri infection,"possibly as a result of sinus rinse practices utilizing tap water." Regarding the use of neti pots and other sinus rinsing methods, the Food and Drug Administration warns that"Tap water isn't safe for use as a nasal rinse because it's not adequately filtered or treated.
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