A Texas woman died from an infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba days after she cleaned her sinuses using tap water, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case report.
She was treated for primary amebic meningoencephalitis — a brain infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, often referred to as the “brain-eating amoeba.”
Despite treatment, the woman experienced seizures and died from the infection eight days after she developed symptoms, the agency said.
The potable water tank, the investigation found, was filled before the woman bought the RV three months ago and could have contained contaminated water.
The agency stressed the importance of using distilled, sterilized or boiled and cooled tap water when people perform nasal irrigation to reduce the risk of infection and illness.
A case report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that a Texas woman died from an infection brought on by a brain-eating amoeba a few days after she used tap water to clean her sinuses.
The CDC report stated that four days after filling a nasal irrigation device with tap water from her RV’s water system at a campsite in Texas, the otherwise healthy 71-year-old woman experienced “severe neurologic symptoms,” such as fever, headache, and altered mental status.
She received treatment for primary amebic meningoencephalitis, a brain infection brought on by the “brain-eating amoeba,” Naegleria fowleri. According to the agency, the woman died from the infection eight days after she started having symptoms, despite receiving treatment for her seizures.
The amoeba in the woman’s cerebrospinal fluid was confirmed by laboratory tests, the report said.
Although the CDC stated that the infection typically follows “recreational water activities,” it also pointed out that using non-distilled water to clean the sinuses increases the risk of primary amebic meningoencephalitis.
The agency’s investigation revealed that the woman had not recently been exposed to fresh water, but she had “on several occasions” prior to her illness used non-boiled water from the RV’s potable water faucet to perform the nasal irrigation.
The investigation discovered that the woman may have had tainted water in the potable water tank, which had been filled prior to her purchasing the RV three months prior. Also, the investigation found that the contamination might have been caused by the municipal water system, which bypassed the tank and was connected to the potable water system.
In order to lower the risk of infection and illness, the agency emphasized the significance of using distilled, sterilized, or boiled and cooled tap water when performing nasal irrigation.
