A beach in Iowa is closed after a rare life-threatening brain infection was confirmed in a visitor who recently went swimming there.
The beach at Lake of Three Fires State Park in Taylor County will be temporarily closed to swimmers, the Iowa Department of Public Health he said on Friday.
“The closure is a precautionary response to a confirmed Naegleria fowleri infection in a Missouri resident with recent potential exposure while swimming at the beach,” according to a statement from the health department.
Naegleria fowleri is a “free-living microscopic unicellular amoeba that can cause a rare life-threatening infection of the brain called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (MAP),” the agency said.
“PAM is extremely rare. Since 1962, only 154 known cases have been identified in the United States,” the statement said.
Naegleria fowleri is commonly found in soil and warm fresh water, such as lakes, rivers and hot springs, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.. It can also be found in poorly maintained or dechlorinated pools.
Infections caused by Naegleria fowleri can occur when water containing the amoeba enters the body through a person’s nose, then travels to the brain where it destroys brain tissue, the health department said. The infection is not contagious and cannot be caused by swallowing contaminated water.
The health department is working with the CDC to test the lake water to “confirm the presence of Naegleria fowleri,” which will take several days, according to the statement.
No additional suspected cases are currently being investigated in Missouri or Iowa, the agency said.
Although rare, PAM is “devastating” and “generally fatal,” according to the CDC. “Among the well-documented cases, there are only five known survivors in North America,” the CDC said.
In September 2021, a North Texas boy died after contracting the rare brain-eating amoeba on a city water platform. In 2020, a 6-year-old boy died in Lake Jackson, Texas. after exposure to amoeba which was found in the water of the splash fountain where he had played.
A 10-year-old girl from Texas died in 2019 after battling the brain-eating amoeba for over a week.
Symptoms start with severe headaches, fever, nausea and vomiting before escalating to seizures, hallucinations and coma, according to the CDC.
According to the CDC, the initial symptoms of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis take about five days after infection. The disease progresses rapidly and usually causes death within one to 18 days after symptoms begin.
To reduce the risk of infection, the health department advise Swimmers should limit the amount of water going up the nose by keeping the nose closed or wearing nose clips, keeping the head above water, and avoiding being in the water when temperatures are very high.
The CNN Wire
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