Daijiworld Media Network – Washington

Washington, Jun 4: In a rare but fatal incident, a 71-year-old woman from Texas lost her life after contracting a deadly brain infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba, reportedly linked to the use of tap water for a nasal rinse, according to a report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The woman, who was otherwise in good health, had been staying at a campground in Texas when she used water from a recreational vehicle (RV) supply line to rinse her sinuses. The water was neither boiled nor sterilised and is suspected to have been contaminated with Naegleria fowleri, commonly known as the brain-eating amoeba.

CDC officials said the woman began experiencing symptoms including fever, headache and confusion just four days after the rinse. Despite receiving emergency treatment for Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM)—a fast-progressing and usually fatal infection—she suffered seizures and succumbed to the illness within eight days of showing initial symptoms.

Though Naegleria fowleri was not conclusively found in the RV’s water supply, health experts said the water was “inadequately disinfected”, raising concerns about the potential for contamination. The CDC has since reiterated public advisories urging the use of only sterile, distilled, or properly boiled and cooled water for sinus irrigation practices.

PAM remains a rare occurrence in the United States, with only 164 documented cases between 1962 and 2023, and a survival rate of just four patients. The amoeba typically thrives in warm freshwater environments such as lakes, rivers, and hot springs, and enters the body through the nose.

Health authorities are now calling for greater awareness and caution, particularly regarding home sinus rinsing practices and recreational activities in warm, untreated freshwater sources.