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Texas woman dies from brain-eating amoeba after cleaning sinuses with tap water (www.nbcnews.com)

submitted 16 hours ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/health@lemmy.world

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The woman contracted a fatal infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba and died eight days after developing symptoms.

A Texas woman died from an infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba days after she cleaned her sinuses using tap water, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case report.

The woman, an otherwise healthy 71-year-old, developed "severe neurologic symptoms," including fever, headache and an altered mental status, four days after she filled a nasal irrigation device with tap water from her RV's water system at a Texas campsite, the CDC report said.

She was treated for primary amebic meningoencephalitis — a brain infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, often referred to as the "brain-eating amoeba." Despite treatment, the woman experienced seizures and died from the infection eight days after she developed symptoms, the agency said.

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[–] isekaihero@ani.social 26 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Campsite water system for RV's. I'm wondering if it was well water, and wasn't chlorinated?

[–] GluWu@lemm.ee 22 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Very likely, but you're not even supposed to drink, let alone netipot yourself, the water directly from the water tank in a RV even if it was filled with chlorinated water. Sitting water always has the potential be become contaminated.

[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

You can't drink the water you put in a RV? Never heard that before.

[–] GluWu@lemm.ee 7 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

A lot of newer nicer RVs do have filters that feed purified water to one of those little taps that's next to the regular dish tap so you can drink that water. But you 100% do not want to drink unfiltered water from the tank.

[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 1 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

I'll definitely keep this in mind if I get one in the future (many years away still but something I was considering). Short of it being a dire warning in the manual or something I might not have known, so thanks!

[–] GluWu@lemm.ee 2 points 9 hours ago

For retirement/travel or full time living? Either way I encourage you to if you've been thinking about it. Its not for everyone but I do think its for the majority of the people that even think about it. There will be challenges, things to fix, obstacles to overcome. But its a level of freedom most people will never experience. It takes a leap of faith but I doubt you'll regret it.

Also in the winter you need to winterize your water system which means putting antifreeze in all the water(which you don't want to run through a filter). Its nontoxic so you can still use it for washing and theoretically drinking. But most people I know just buy gallon jugs of water for drinking year round. Its a simple and cheap solution so you have tasty sterile drinking water year round.