Brain-eating amoeba: Warning issued in Florida after rare infection case:
A case of a rare brain-eating amoeba has been confirmed in Florida, according to health officials in the US state.
The Florida Department of Health (DOH) said one person in Hillsborough County had contracted Naegleria fowleri.
The microscopic, single-celled amoeba can cause an infection of the brain, and is usually fatal.
Commonly found in warm freshwater, the amoeba enters the body through the nose.
The DOH did not outline where the infection was contracted, or the patient's condition. The amoeba cannot be passed from person to person.
Infections are typically seen in southern US states. They are rare in Florida, where only 37 cases have been reported since 1962.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 06 2020, @09:27PM (2 children)
I won't dispute what you said, but when that neti pot story broke, I looked into that specific story. From what I recall, the story was more akin to the woman saying she used a neti pot six months prior, and since they couldn't think of any other way it could have happened, suddenly the stories were "woman gets brain-eating amoeba from using neti pot!!!!" and lots and lots of good juicy clicks from that clickbait.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday July 06 2020, @09:35PM
It's entirely possible, she was skinny dipping one night with her lover and neglected to inform her doctor of said event. Though, I wouldn't be too surprised if it was from the filtered tap water.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 3, Interesting) by sjames on Monday July 06 2020, @11:01PM
I got curious, so I looked it up. Her first clear symptom happened a year after she used a neti pot as instructed by he doctor (for a chronic sinus infection). That seems like an unlikely incubation period.
A case from 2013 seems more likely. It was traced to a contaminated water system.
I find that nasal irrigation can help during allergy season. I boil and cool the water first. I just use a juice glass and snort.