Georgia resident dies from infection caused by 'brain-eating' amoeba, says health dept.

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ATLANTA — Health officials in Georgia are getting words of warning out after a resident became only the 6th in the state in 60 years to die from an amoeba commonly described as 'brain-eating.'

The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) says the person "was likely infected while swimming in a freshwater lake or pond in Georgia."

A DPH release was not specific on where specifically in the state this happened.

Naegleria fowleri is an amoeba -- a single-celled living organism -- that lives in soil and warm, freshwater lakes, rivers, ponds, and hot springs.

It's commonly called the “brain-eating amoeba” because it can cause a brain infection, primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), when water containing the amoeba goes up the nose.

DPH says it cannot infect people if swallowed and is not spread from person to person.

Only about three people in the United States get infected each year, but these infections are usually fatal.

Symptoms of an infection typically start with severe headache, fever, nausea and vomiting and then progress to stiff neck, seizures, and coma that can lead to death.

Symptoms usually begin about five days after infection, but DPH says they can start within 1 to 12 days.

Once symptoms start, the disease progresses rapidly and usually causes death within about five days.

Unfortunately, DPH says the amoeba is naturally-occurring, and there is no routine environmental test for it. Nor can they be controlled or eliminated.

Though the risk of infection is low, DPH says recreational water users should always assume there is a risk when they enter warm fresh water.

If you choose to swim, you can reduce your risk of infection by limiting the amount of water that goes up the nose.

Recommended precautions from the CDC include:

  • Avoid jumping or diving into bodies of warm fresh water, especially during the summer.
  • Hold your nose shut, use nose clips, or keep your head above water when in bodies of warm fresh water.
  • Avoid putting your head under water in hot springs and other untreated geothermal waters.
  • Avoid digging in, or stirring up, the sediment in shallow, warm fresh water. The amoebae are more likely to live in sediment at the bottom of lakes, ponds, and rivers.

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