A MAN has died weeks after being infected with brain-eating amoeba while swimming in a lake on a trip to Iowa.
The man from Missouri is believed to have contracted Naegleria fowleric while visiting the Lake of Three Fires in Taylor County.
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The unidentified man had since been admitted to a hospital in Jefferson City come down with the rare infection start of July.
The discovery of Naegleria fowleri in the patient shocked doctors and raised concern about the life-threatening disease.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Naegleria is a single-celled amoeba that can cause a rare, life-threatening brain infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis.
The CDC says the amoeba lives in warm freshwater, such as lakes, rivers, ponds, hot springs and soil.
Naegleria fowleri infects humans when water containing the amoeba enters the body through the nose.
The amoeba then travels through the nose to the brain, where it destroys brain tissue.
Health officials in Missouri think the guy contacted the infection at Lake of Three Fires near Bedford, Iowaabout two hours north of Kansas City.
It is the first confirmed case in the state in 35 years, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said.
Since 1962, only 154 known cases have been identified in the U.S.
The only other case identified in a Missouri resident occurred in 1987, according to DHSS.
Three cases of Naegleria fowleri-related infections have been reported in the US in 2021, according to the CDC’s Most Recent Data.
Last year, a three-year-old boy died after contracting the waterborne brain-eating amoeba from a… splash pad in a Texas park.
The amoeba cannot spread from one person to another and cannot be contracted by swallowing contaminated water.
Symptoms may include severe headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, seizures, altered mental status, and hallucinations.
Health officials said people can take action to reduce the risk of infection by limiting the amount of water entering the nose.
People are encouraged to keep their noses closed by using nose clips or to keep their heads above water when participating in water-related activities in warm freshwater bodies.
Experts also advise people not to submerge their heads in hot springs and other untreated thermal waters.