Students help monitor Florida water safety

By Adam Sadik and Maya Totev •

On March 2, health officials in Charlotte County, FL, issued a water health warning over a man dying from a brain-eating amoeba, Naegleria fowleri.

This amoeba has a very rare infection rate, as it has only infected 157 individuals in the United States as of 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The route of infection is intranasally.

“It is more prevalent in areas of a warmer climate. In tap water, if you ingest it, this amoeba will not make it past the stomach because of the acidic conditions. But in the rare condition that it goes up the nasal passageways, then there is an increase in chance it would make it into the brain area,” said Dr. Aarti Raja, NSU professor and The Current’s health desk adviser.

Health officials are concerned since this is the first recorded case over winter. The pathogen is not able to survive in cooler conditions.
N. fowleri has a 97% fatality rate, as there are only three recorded survivors from this parasite. This deadly pathogen infects brain tissue, a condition called meningoencephalitis that inflames the meninges region.

“Immune cells arrive there be- cause it senses a foreign entity, specifically the meninges, which surround the brain and unleashes an immune response. The immune system in the brain area is never a good idea, and it causes damage,” said Dr. Raja.

The Florida man was using a sinus rinse, a neti pot, to clear his sinuses, but this was the cause of his infection as the water used was derived from the tap. The water was not treated further as instructed by the neti pot instructions to boil or use distilled water.

“I feel that having brain-eating amoeba in Florida is quite concerning, especially since I use tap water to wash my face all the time,” Manas Peddiboyina, junior public health major, said.

Another way this pathogen can enter the body is through lakes and rivers. Intranasal cases have occurred through individuals jumping in these open fresh water sources.

There is no effective treatment available. A combination of drugs can be used to attempt to save their life.

“[Healthcare workers] throw some antibiotic and antifungal medications, but it is not a specific drug against the amoeba. There are more medications given to quiet the immune system down in the hopes that it will not keep firing,” Raja said.