Public health officials are urging 200,000 residents of a US county to forgo washing their face with tap water after a man died from a brain-eating amoeba. Health officials believe the man might have contracted the infection after he rinsed his sinuses with tap water, but an investigation is ongoing. According to the Florida Department of Health, sinus solutions should be made using only distilled or sterile water.
If residents are using tap water, it should be boiled for at least one minute and cooled before sinus rinsing.
The health warning has been issued to residents in Charlotte County, where the man died.
Dr Mobeen Rathore, an infectious disease expert from the University of Florida, told DailyMail.com that residents in the county, which is located 70 miles from Tampa, should avoid exposing their nose to tap water – including while showering – until “officials give the all clear”.
The doc added: “Unless it’s cleared [by local health authorities] you should avoid any water going into the nose — at least for now. In the shower, avoid getting anything into the nose.”
READ MORE: ‘Brain-eating’ amoeba infection kills man who rinsed his nose with tap water
It’s relatively rare – only about three people in the US get infected each year, but these infections are usually fatal.
The Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County confirmed the man’s death on Thursday.
The agency had previously issued an alert last month, warning residents about the Naegleria fowleri infection.
“I can confirm the infection unfortunately resulted in a death, and any additional information on this case is confidential to protect patient privacy,” Williams said.
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According to the public health body, residents in Charlotte County should follow the instructions below:
- When making sinus rinse solutions, use only distilled or sterile water. Tap water should be boiled for at least one minute and cooled before sinus rinsing.
- DO NOT allow water to go up your nose or sniff water into your nose when bathing, showering, washing your face, or swimming in small hard plastic/blow-up pools.
- DO NOT jump into or put your head under bathing water (bathtubs, small hard plastic/blow-up pools) – walk or lower yourself in.
- DO NOT allow children to play unsupervised with hoses or sprinklers, as they may accidentally squirt water up their nose. Avoid slip-n-slides or other activities where it is difficult to prevent water going up the nose.
- Keep small hard plastic or blow-up pools clean by emptying, scrubbing, and allowing them to dry after each use.
- Keep your swimming pool adequately disinfected before and during use.
The Department is working with health care facilities to monitor any indications of additional infections.
If you experience one or more of a number of symptoms after swimming in warm lakes or rivers, or after a nasal water exposure such as a sinus rinse, you seek medical assistance immediately, it says.
Symptoms to watch out for include headache, fever, nausea, disorientation or vomiting.
This is not the first time the amoeba has found its way into municipally controlled water.
Louisiana has famously suffered multiple issues with the deadly organism found in its water supply.
In 2011, two Louisianans died because of contaminated water in the home. Another unnamed child died in 2013.
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