Man dies after contracting brain-eating amoeba in tourist hotspot

• A Missouri resident has died from a rare Naegleria fowleri infection, commonly known as a "brain-eating amoeba", after water skiing in the Lake of the Ozarks.
• The individual passed away on 19 August at a hospital in the St. Louis area, with preliminary information indicating exposure occurred shortly before falling ill.
• Naegleria fowleri is a microscopic amoeba typically found in warm freshwater, and infections are extremely rare in the US, with fewer than 10 cases reported annually.
• The amoeba enters the body through the nose, travelling to the brain, and infections are almost always fatal, though they cannot spread between people or by swallowing water.
• This incident follows other recent cases in the US, including the death of a child in South Carolina and a 71-year-old woman in Texas who contracted the amoeba from tap water.

IN FULL

Missouri resident dies from brain-eating amoeba after water skiing in Lake of the Ozarks