Drama in Charlotte County, Florida.
A resident died after being infected with a “
brain-eating
” amoeba, the local health department announced in a press release on Thursday March 2.
The victim would have been contaminated on February 23 after washing his sinuses by rinsing his nose with tap water, specifies the region.
It also ensures that an epidemiological investigation is underway to determine the circumstances of the infection.
This type of case is “
rare
”, specifies the press release, which insists that one cannot be infected by drinking tap water.
Read alsoCovid-19: an infection protects as well as a vaccine, according to a study
It seeps into the noses of swimmers
If the local Department of Health wants to be reassuring, however, it advises residents not to let this type of water enter their noses, especially when they “
shower
”, “
bathe
” or “
wash
” their face.
The micro-organism in question, which lives in shallow water, is “
Naegleria fowleri
”
.
It owes its nickname of “
brain eater
” to the brain infections it causes, by infiltrating the nose of bathers and then going up the olfactory nerve to the brain.
This amoeba causes headaches, nausea, fever, hallucinations, and even plunges into a coma.
In September 2019, a 10-year-old American woman also succumbed to the amoeba “
Naegleria fowleri
”.
She had bathed in a river in Texas.
