According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case report, 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.
According to the CDC report, the 71-year-old lady, who was otherwise healthy, experienced “severe neurologic symptoms,” such as fever, headache, and altered mental status, four days after filling a nasal irrigation device with tap water from her RV’s water system while camping in Texas.
The primary amebic meningoencephalitis she was treated for was brought on by Naegleria fowleri, also known as the “brain-eating amoeba.”
Eight days after she started having symptoms, the woman passed away from the virus after suffering convulsions in spite of therapy, according to the agency.
According to the article, laboratory tests verified the presence of amoeba in the woman’s CSF fluid.
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.
According to an agency investigation, the woman had performed the nasal irrigation “on several occasions” prior to her sickness using non-boiled water from the RV’s potable water tap, despite not having previously been exposed to fresh water.
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According to the research, the woman may have had tainted water in the potable water tank, which was replenished before she purchased the RV three months ago.
The inquiry also found that the pollution may have been caused by the municipal water system, which was connected to the potable water system and did not use the tank.
In order to lower the danger of infection and disease, the organization emphasized the need of using distilled, sterilized, or boiled and cooled tap water while performing nasal irrigation.
