Texas swimmer dies from infection caused by brain-eating amoeba

Aug. 30 (UPI) — A swimmer in Texas has died after developing a meningitis infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba from an Austin area lake, health officials announced Wednesday.

Austin Public Health officials said the swimmer, who has not been identified, contracted an amebic meningitis infection from Naegleria fowleri, more commonly known as a brain-eating amoeba, after swimming in Lake Lyndon B. Johnson earlier this month.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, primary amebic meningoencephalitis infections are rare with only 39 reported infections in Texas between 1962 and 2022. A sample from the case has been sent to the CDC.

“Although these infections are very rare, this is an important reminder that there are microbes present in natural bodies of water that can pose risks of infection,” Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes said in a statement. “Increased temperatures over the summer make it ideal for harmful microorganisms to grow and flourish.”

Naegleria fowleri is a free-living amoeba that lives in warm freshwater and soil. It can also live in swimming pools that are not properly chlorinated. The amoeba, which is more commonly found in Texas and Florida, does not live in salt water.

Health officials say the amoeba usually enters the body through the nose and travels to the brain where it can cause an infection that destroys tissue, which is usually fatal. The infection cannot occur if water is swallowed.

Initial symptoms of a amebic meningitis infection, which can begin one to 12 days after swimming, are severe headache, fever, nausea and vomiting before progressing to seizures, stiff neck, coma and death within 18 days of exposure.

To reduce risk of infection, health officials warn swimmers to limit water going up their nose by holding their nose shut, wearing nose clips and keeping their head above water.

Health officials also recommend staying out of warm freshwater during periods of hot weather.

The city of Arlington also announced Wednesday it has shut down its public splash pads and pools after a water sample detected the possible presence of Naegleria fowleri.

The sample was collected from the California Lane Park splash pad as part of a voluntary federal study. City officials were notified Tuesday that the sample had tested positive.

In 2021, a 3-year-old boy died after he became ill with the brain-eating amoeba following a visit to Arlington’s Don Misenhimer splash pad. Since his death, Arlington implemented the Bakari Williams Protocols which require increased chemical testing for the city’s pools in the boy’s honor.

Arlington city officials said they have not been notified of any illnesses this month linked to the facilities. The Environmental Protection Agency is currently conducting follow-up tests on the water.