Texas Woman Dies From Brain-Eating Amoeba After Using Tainted RV Water

Gizmodo

3 days ago

Cases of Naegleria fowleri infection are incredibly rare, but nearly always fatal.
A woman's practice of nasal irrigation led to her death via brain-eating amoeba. In a recent case report, health officials described how she contracted a fatal infection of Naegleria fowleri through tainted tap water sourced from a recreational vehicle.
Federal and local health officials in Texas detailed the unusual death last week in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The 71-year-old woman developed neurological symptoms days after using a nasal irrigation device and died only a week later. These infections, while rare, can be prevented through practical safety measures, such as only using sterilized water for nasal irrigation, officials say.
N. fowleri is a shapeshifting amoeba that lives in soil and warm freshwater. It typically feeds on bacteria and isn't dangerous to humans when it's simply ingested. But when the amoeba enters our body through the nose, it can end up in the brain. Once there, the amoeba will literally feast on brain cells and trigger massive inflammation, causing a severe brain infection known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM.
According to the MMWR report, the previously healthy woman sought medical care with fever, headache, and altered mental status. Four days earlier, she had irrigated her nose with tap water from an RV's water system at a campground in Texas. Doctors quickly suspected PAM, but even with treatment, she developed seizures and died eight days after her symptoms began. The bizarre nature of her death then prompted an investigation by the Texas Department of State Health Services and the CDC.
Officials tested both the water from the woman's RV and the nearby municipal water system that the RV may have been connected to during the trip. Neither source tested positive for the amoeba, and officials were only able to sample the water 23 days after the woman's exposure, so the environmental conditions may have simply changed by then. But they did find evidence that the RV's water system wasn't properly disinfected to prevent contamination, likely explaining how the amoeba found its way into the woman's tap water.
'This case reinforces the potential for serious health risks associated with improper use of nasal irrigation devices, as well as the importance of maintaining RV water quality and ensuring that municipal water systems adhere to regulatory standards,' the officials wrote.
PAM is very rare, with only around 150 cases reported since the amoeba was discovered in the 1960s, but it's nearly always fatal once symptoms start. Most infections are typically caught when people get water up their nose while swimming in warm lakes. But the amoeba can also survive in drinking or recreational water systems, especially if they're not properly sterilized. And there have been several cases of people getting infected through using contaminated tap water for nasal irrigation (irrigation is usually performed to clear the sinuses in people with allergies or respiratory infections).
The report authors say that PAM can be easily prevented through recommended nasal irrigation practices, which include only relying on distilled, sterilized, or boiled and cooled tap water for irrigation. This latest case also highlights the unique danger posed by improperly cleaned RV water systems. So Texas and federal health officials have now created an infographic for RV users to follow so they can lower their risk of PAM and other waterborne illnesses.