Person Used Tap Water as Sinus Rinse, Probably Fatally

A person in Florida has died of the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri, and health officials say tap water may be to blame. Specifically, "sinus rinse practices utilizing tap water," according to a Florida Department of Health press release. Using a neti pot or similar sinus rinsing device with tap water that has not been sterilized is not safe, as a Naegleria fowleri infection "can only happen when water contaminated with amoebae enters the body through the nose," the department says. Distilled or sterile water should be used in sinus rinse solutions, or, if tap water will be used, it must first be boiled for at least a minute and then cooled, CNN reports. A person cannot be infected by drinking tap water, since the amoeba is killed by stomach acid.

"An epidemiological investigation is being conducted to understand the unique circumstances of this infection. I can confirm the infection unfortunately resulted in a death, and any additional information on this case is confidential to protect patient privacy,” a press secretary for the health department said in response to an email query. Around three people per year are infected with Naegleria fowleri in the US, and most cases are fatal. This is the first time a case has ever been reported in the US in the winter, People reports—infections often happen during the summer months when people swim in warm fresh water where the bacteria is commonly found. (More Naegleria fowleri stories.)