A person has been hospitalized in Missouri after contracting a rare infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba from swimming in a popular local lake.
No name or age has been released for the patient, but the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services stated that exposure likely occurred at the Lake of the Ozarks.
They had been waterskiing at the popular recreational spot before becoming sick with symptoms related to a Naegleria fowleri infection.
Health officials say the patient, currently hospitalized in St. Louis, is only the third person in Missouri to contract the amoeba since the state began keeping records in 1962. The two other cases were reported in 1987 and 2022.
Naegleria fowleri is commonly called a brain-eating amoeba because it causes a brain infection that is typically fatal.
Official records show 164 people in the US were infected with the disease between 1962 and 2023, of which only four survived.
Experts now warn that cases of Naegleria fowleri appear to be becoming more common and expanding to the northern US due to climate change.
They say warmer weather creates the perfect breeding ground for the amoeba.
A person has been hospitalized in Missouri after contracting a rare infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba after visiting a popular local lake (stock photo)
Charles Gerba, a professor of microbiology and public health at the University of Arizona, told Live Science: ‘What you might see is spikes in these organisms after an extreme weather event.
‘So the more nutrients in the water, the more bacteria you’ll get. We’re seeing it creeping up to states further and further north all the time.’
The Missouri lake where the latest case has emerged is a man-made reservoir created in 1931 with the completion of Bagnell Dam on the Osage River.
Today, it draws tens of thousands of visitors with dozens of picturesque swimming spots, along with fishing and watersports activities.
There had been no prior warnings about the lake being contaminated with bacteria or other harmful organisms and health experts say that despite the recent incident, there is not an elevated risk associated with the body of water.
To reduce the risk of infection in warm freshwater health officials have advised swimmers to hold their noses shut, to keep their heads above water, to avoid activities in the water during periods of high temperatures and to avoid digging sediment.
The US only suffers a handful of deaths from brain-eating amoebas each year, usually among people swimming in warm water lakes and rivers.
Texas is among the states that have suffered the largest burden of brain-eating amoeba cases, with 39 of the 164 cases recorded in the US occurring in the Lone Star state.
The single-cell organism, which thrives in warm waters, kills 97 percent of the people it infects as it causes a disease called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, also known as PAM or amebic meningitis.
Initial symptoms include a headache, vomiting and nausea. A person can then suffer cognitive issues and a stiff neck as things progress.
It causes severe swelling, and eventually rotting, of the brain and spinal cord. This will almost always eventually lead to death.
There are no known effective treatments for PAM.
A total of 157 Naegleria fowleri cases were reported in the US from 1962 to 2022, the latest map available, with a state-by-state breakdown shown above. Four patients had no known state of exposure. Texas and Florida recorded the most cases, at 39 and 37 respectively
Only several Americans have ever survived after being infected with Naegleria fowleri. This includes Caleb Ziegelbauer from Florida, who was 13 years old at the time he was stricken by the microscopic species (pictured)
Only several Americans have ever survived after being infected with Naegleria fowleri. This includes Caleb Ziegelbauer from Florida, who was 13 years old at the time he was infected by the microscopic species.
Caleb is now walking somewhat but the damage done to his brain means he needs to communicate with facial expressions and has to use a wheelchair.
Officials believe the South Carolina child was infected while swimming in a local lake.
The incident is not the first case of a Naegleria fowleri infection in South Carolina and there have also been other deaths linked to to the organism over recent years.
In June, a 71-year-old woman from Texas contracted an infection and died from Naegleria fowleri after she rinsed her sinuses with tap water from an RV’s water system at a campground.
And in 2023, a 16-month-old toddler from Arkansas died after coming into contact with the same one-celled organism at a water playground with fountains and jets.
The amoeba, which is 1,200 times smaller than a dime, enters the body through the olfactory nerve which connects the upper nose to the brain.
This gives it a short and direct route into the brain. If water containing the amoeba enters the nose, it will likely lead to infection.
Ingesting water through the mouth is ok because stomach acid is strong enough to kill the amoeba. The nose is its only route.
Once a person’s olfactory nerve is exposed, it can take around one to nine days to start experiencing symptoms. They will usually die within five days of symptoms first appearing.
‘It’s quite rapid, it’s very progressive. It literally eats the brain tissue,’ Dr Anjan Debnath, a parasitologist at the University of California San Diego, explained.
Because of the rare infection, doctors also often misdiagnose symptoms as meningitis – wasting valuable time that could be used to treat the parasite.
Dr Debnath describes the infection as taking part in two stages. The first is relatively minor, with the person experiencing a headache and other flu-like symptoms.
This means that unless a doctor knows that a person has been swimming in untreated water they may not even suspect the amoeba.
Once symptoms reach the second stage, a person will start experiencing severe neurological issues like seizures.
A doctor will then likely find out about the infection through a spinal fluid test.
America suffers around three cases of the amoeba each year.
They will almost always occur over summer, when many families flock to local lakes and ponds for a daytime outing.
Dr Debnath still advises against swimming in untreated water over summer, especially in places like Florida and Texas where temperatures get exceptionally high.
Because the amoeba only resides in fresh water, swimming in the ocean is generally safe.
If families do choose to visit a freshwater beach, anyone entering the water should wear a nose clip to prevent water from entering their nose.
Dr Debnath also recommends against kicking up dirt or sand from the bottom of the lake as warmer areas deep down are where the microscopic beings usually lie.
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