Texas resident dies of brain-eating amoeba after swimming in a lake in Austin

A Texas resident has died of a brain-eating amoeba after swimming in a lake near Austin.

The person, who was not named, went swimming in Lake Lyndon B. Johnson earlier this month before contracting the infection.

Local health officials said the patient had developed an illness caused by Naegleria fowleri – which kills 99 percent of people infected with it.

The individual is believed to be at least the fourth U.S. victim of the amoeba this year, after a Georgia resident, a two-year-old boy in Nevada and a man in Florida all died after contracting the disease.

“While these infections are very rare, this is an important reminder that there are microbes present in natural water bodies that can pose infection risks,” said Dr. Desmar Walkes, an Austin-Travis County health official.

‘The higher temperatures in the summer make it ideal for harmful microorganisms to grow and flourish.’

Humans can be infected by the amoeba if water flows through their noses, which can happen while swimming, diving, or holding their head underwater.

The amoeba causes an infection in the nose before traveling through the nerves to the brain, where it can be fatal.

Patients initially suffer from mild symptoms such as headache, fever, nausea or vomiting, which begin about five days after infection.

But these quickly progress to more serious warning signs such as confusion, hallucinations, loss of balance and seizures.

Patients die about five days after symptoms appear, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Infections with the amoeba are rare in the US, with only 157 cases between 1962 and 2022 – or less than three cases per year. Thirty-nine of these — or 25 percent — were in Texas.

Up to five cases have been reported annually for the past decade, according to the CDC.

However, experts fear that amoeba infections will become more common due to rising temperatures.

The organism lives in fresh water and multiplies when the water temperature rises above 25 degrees Celsius, increasing the risk of infection for swimmers.

Health officials say one of the best ways to prevent the disease is to avoid swimming in warm fresh water, where the microbe could lodge.

They also advise limiting the amount of water that goes up through the nose by using nose clips or by keeping one’s head above water.

Officials also say people should avoid disturbing the sediment at the bottom of the lake or river, where the amoeba lurks.

The person was believed to have caught Naegleria fowleri after taking a dip in a freshwater lake or pond in the state.

The case comes about a month after a person in Georgia also died after contracting the brain-eating amoeba.

The person, who was also not named, is said to have caught the amoeba after swimming in a freshwater lake or pond.

The Georgia Department of Health revealed the case this weekend, advising people not to swim in hot water.

The department did not reveal where the person had been swimming before being diagnosed with the disease.

There are more than thirty lakes in Georgia, the most popular of which – Lake Lanier in the north of the state – attracts up to 11 million visitors annually.