Missouri Patient with ‘Brain-Eating’ Infection Linked to Waterskiing Dies Less Than 1 Week Later

A Missouri man infected with a brain-eating amoeba has died less than a week after health officials confirmed his infection.

On Wednesday, Aug. 20, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) announced in a press release that the man passed away on Tuesday at a hospital in the St. Louis area.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones of the patient,” the agency said.

In a previous statement, the DHSS noted that the man had been waterskiing on the Lake of the Ozarks — a popular destination for boating, waterskiing, and swimming — just days before contracting the infection, according to their Aug. 13 announcement.

Laboratory testing confirmed that the source of the infection was an amoeba called Naegleria fowleri.

Naegleria fowleri is a single-celled organism that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control explains is “often called the ‘brain-eating ameba’ because it can infect the brain and destroy brain tissue.” Infection occurs when contaminated water enters the nose and reaches the brain, causing a condition known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).

The CDC notes that PAM is “almost always fatal,” with more than 97% of those infected dying from the disease.

Early symptoms often include headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting, appearing up to 12 days after exposure. As the infection progresses, patients may experience a stiff neck, seizures, confusion, hallucinations, and in severe cases, coma.

Naegleria fowleri infections typically occur after swimming in warm freshwater lakes or rivers, particularly during hot weather that raises water temperatures and lowers water levels.

“Although a rare occurrence, people become infected by Naegleria fowleri when water containing the ameba enters the body through the nose from freshwater sources,” the DHSS explained. “The Naegleria fowleri ameba then travels up the nose to the brain where it damages the brain tissue. This infection cannot be spread from one person to another, and it cannot be contracted by swallowing contaminated water.”

To reduce the risk of infection, DHSS recommends keeping freshwater out of your nose and avoiding stirring up sediment in shallow areas.

“Hold your nose shut, use nose clips, or keep your head above water when taking part in activities in bodies of warm freshwater, especially if you jump or dive into the water,” the agency advised. Swimmers should also avoid “putting your head under the water in hot springs and other untreated thermal waters” and engaging in “water-related activities in warm freshwater during periods of high-water temperature.”

“Recreational water users should assume that Naegleria fowleri is present in warm freshwater across the United States; however, infection remains very rare,” DHSS added.