Charlotte County Health Department investigating possible brain-eating amoeba case

An invisible, dangerous brain-eating amoeba may have made it into tap water in Charlotte County. It’s extremely rare for someone to get infected in the first place, but the Health Department is investigating a first-of-its-kind case.

The Health Department in Charlotte County believes this happened when the victim used a sinus rinse, like a Neti Pot.

Experts say this does not mean that it is time to freak out. This is off-the-charts rare, so don’t worry about your tap water.

The Health Department in Charlotte County says it has a confirmed case of brain-eating amoeba, and it’s investigating the possibility that the amoeba infected the victim by first surviving in tap water.

An amoeba is a small, single-celled organism so tiny it can only be seen under a microscope. It doesn’t have a fixed body shape. They live in freshwater ponds, streams, and lakes, some of which are killers.

“You start feeling dizzy, lightheaded,” said Barry Rosen, with the Water School at FGCU, describing some of the symptoms of having an amoeba. “It has to get up to the brain.”

Rosen said the only way for that to happen is through a sinus rinse, like a Neti Pot.

The Centers for Disease Control says, while possible, as of November 2022, it does not have a case like that on record.

“It’s so rare that you know, it would be hard for me to say, ‘yeah, you should be concerned about it.’ It is way too rare for that to happen,” Rosen said.

The Charlotte County Health Department is clear its investigators have confirmed nothing. No one will say who is infected, their age, the victim’s prognosis, or where this happened.

Rosen narrowed it down. “Tap water can mean it comes from the tap, but it could come from their own well, right? So tap water provided by a municipal supplier is chlorinated. And that chlorine level that they apply is strong enough to kill this amoeba. Shouldn’t be an issue.”

An amoeba typically lives in a lake or pond in temperatures of more than 75 or 80 degrees. A brain-eating amoeba can only infect someone through the nose. You cannot be infected by drinking tap water.

People in Charlotte County said they’re alarmed that something like this could be possible, even if it’s extremely rare.

“We’re a little bit alarmed by it,” said Kirk Huang. “Makes us all real surprised that something like this would be in this particular community.”

“I’m totally alarmed,” said Larke H. “Any kind of health issue like this because we’re older. We have an infant in the home, also. I would just hope that the Charlotte County Health Department, the CDC gets on it and figures it out right away.”

Symptoms include headache, fever, disorientation, hallucinations, and seizures. While it’s rare for someone to get a brain-eating amoeba, it is also rare that person survives.