By Kalhan Rosenblatt —
NBC News
A Missouri patient has died after becoming infected with a brain-eating amoeba after a visit to an Iowa lake, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services confirmed Friday.
The patient died of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, a usually fatal infection caused by the
Naegleria fowleri
amoeba , The Associated Press news agency reported.
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NBC News has contacted the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services for more information.
The Missouri resident's death was first reported by The Des Moines Register.
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Missouri health authorities have not identified the patient, who was in the intensive care unit before his death, the Register reported.
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"Because these cases are incredibly rare and out of respect for the family, we do not intend to release additional information about the patient that could lead to the identification of the individual," said Lisa Cox, director of communications for the Department of Health and Missouri Senior Services, to the Register in an email.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services learned of the infection on July 6.
Officials believe the patient swam in an Iowa lake suspected of carrying the amoeba in late June.
Lake of Three Fires in Taylor County, Iowa, where the Missouri resident is believed to have contracted the amoeba, was closed earlier this month as a "precautionary measure."
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services warned on Twitter that the amoeba is "not contagious" but can be deadly if a person becomes infected.
“Although rare, infection can occur when water containing
Naegleria fowleri
enters the nose from warm freshwater.
The amoeba travels up the nose to the brain, where it destroys brain tissue.
This infection is not contagious and cannot be contracted by swallowing water,” the department noted.
The death rate for those who get primary amoebic meningoencephalitis from
Naegleria fowleri
is more than 97%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC notes that it is most commonly contracted in rivers and lakes.
Of the 154 recorded cases in the United States, only four people have survived
Naegleria fowleri
, officials told the Register.
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The Missouri resident is possibly the first on record in Iowa, according to the CDC.
The main symptoms of the infection include headaches, fever, nausea and vomiting, the Register reported.
No more cases of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis have been registered, according to said medium.
Officials said the death is being investigated, and while the patient is believed to have contracted the amoeba in Lake of the Three Fires, other bodies of water are being tested.
“Public health experts strongly believe that the lake is a likely source, but we are not limiting the investigation to that source because it has not been confirmed.
Other public water sources in Missouri are being tested," the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said on Twitter.