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(WJW) – As temperatures heat up, many of us will be headed to the water to cool off. However, there’s a deadly amoeba that lives in freshwater and thrives during the summer months.
Naegleria fowleri, commonly called “brain-eating amoeba,” is rare – there are only about 3 cases per year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but it’s almost always fatal.
How can you get it?
“They like to grow in water,” Dr. Christine Alexander, chair of family medicine at MetroHealth Medical Center in Ohio, told Nexstar’s WJW in a previous interview. “Especially warm water.”
Naegleria fowleri infects people in only one way: when water containing the amoeba enters the body through the nose, according to the CDC.
The amoeba then makes a beeline for the brain.
Naegleria fowleri is naturally found in warm freshwater environments such as lakes and rivers, or hot springs, but can also be found in water discharge from industrial or power plants, geothermal well water, poorly maintained or minimally chlorinated swimming pools, water heaters, and soil, according to CDC data on all confirmed cases.
Dr. Dennis Kyle, professor of infectious diseases and cellular biology at the University of Georgia and the scholar chair of antiparasitic drug discovery with the Georgia Research Alliance, previously told Nexstar, “This time of year is when we typically hear about these cases … when people are out doing summer activities in the water, or on the lakes.”
People who become infected develop a condition called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).
“This is not like a bacterial infection which we have antibiotics or a viral infection where we have antivirals,” Dr. Alexander said. “We don’t have medicine to get rid of the amoeba.”
Where is it found?
Naegleria fowleri is typically found in warm water with temperatures of 80 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, the CDC says.
In hot sunny weather, chlorine can break down and be less effective at splash pads and pools, according to CDPH.
Almost half of all infections ever documented originated in Florida and Texas. It’s been found as far north as Minnesota. Cases have been documented in nearly half of all U.S. states.
Texas has the most cases overall, with 39. Florida is right behind at 37. California is the only other state with cases in the double digits.
To this date, no one has ever gotten infected in Ohio. However, it has claimed victims who lived in Ohio and were traveling.
See the cases here.
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Ohio teen dies
An 18-year-old girl from Westerville, Ohio died from an infection caused by Naegleria fowleri in 2016.
Lauren Seitz went whitewater rafting at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, during a church trip, where she’s believed to have contracted the deadly amoeba.
“They had one day of recreation where they stopped at the U.S. Whitewater Center and went whitewater rafting and they had a grand day,” Senior Pastor Jim Wilson told Nexstar’s WCMH at the time.
When she returned to Ohio, she began to experience symptoms such as headaches, fever, vomiting and neck stiffness. She was admitted to the hospital and died only a few days later.
“We will deeply miss her, but we were so blessed by her presence and her gifts that she just shared in a beautiful way. She was a special person.”
The CDC later said that levels of the brain-eating amoeba were “unusually high” in water samples taken from the U.S. National Whitewater Center and were likely caused by the failure of the water sanitation system.
Is anyone testing for it?
Naegleria fowleri is not something health officials actively test for, according to CDPH.
“In terms of testing, it would generally only be tested if it was potentially linked to a case,” the health department said.
What are the symptoms?
According to the Cleveland Clinic, the signs and symptoms of primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) come on suddenly and are severe at the start, including:
- High fever
- Very painful headache
- Nausea and vomiting
- Trembling
- Symptoms like those of meningitis, including a stiff neck and extreme sensitivity to light (photophobia)
- Mental confusion
- Coma
While it’s very unlikely that you will contract the deadly bacteria, there are preventative measures you can take. In a response to a media inquiry, the Ohio Department of Health said the following:
“The Ohio Department of Health (ODH), as always, recommends people follow general safe swimming practices; this includes preventing water from forcefully entering the nasal cavity, which can reduce the possibility of infection.”
The CDC also suggests limiting the amount of water going up the nose, and Kyle said it’s best to avoid bodies of warm freshwater — “warm” meaning they produce surface temperature readings of 75 degrees F or higher for extended periods of time — and to especially avoid jumping or diving into such waters.
It’s also important to use nose plugs, keep your head above the surface, and properly clean and chlorinate wading pools, swimming pools and spas.
Kyle added that amoeba awareness, while not something people often think about on hot summer days, is also one of the best tools for keeping people safe.
“If we had more awareness, better support, more people working on this, then we could possibly come up with better diagnostics and better treatments in a reasonable amount of time, and avoid these devastating things that are happening,” Kyle said.
