Brain eating amoeba-infected patient dies, Missouri health officials confirm

A Missouri resident died after being infected with a rare brain-eating amoeba at the Lake of the Ozarks, state health officials announced this week.

Officials confirmed on Aug. 13 that the individual had contracted Naegleria fowleri, a microscopic amoeba that causes primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) - a rare but nearly always fatal brain infection often referred to as "brain-eating" disease.

Naegleria fowleri is naturally present in warm freshwater such as lakes, rivers and ponds. The amoeba thrives in river and lake water at 80 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit, especially after storms.

The amoeba infects people when water enters the body through the nose, traveling to the brain where it destroys brain tissue.

Since 1962, only 167 cases have been documented nationwide, according to the DHSS. Missouri has confirmed just two other cases in its history - one in 1987, and another in 2022.

Symptoms of PAM can appear within one to 12 days of exposure and may include severe headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, seizures, confusion and hallucinations. Symptoms are likely to worsen over time, officials noted.

"Early symptoms should prompt a medical evaluation, as they are also signs of bacterial meningitis," Tammy Lundstrom, chief medical officer and infectious disease specialist for Trinity Health in Michigan, previously told Fox News Digital.

Treatment usually includes a variety of antifungal medications, as well as antibiotics like rifampin and azithromycin, she said.

No other cases are suspected in the area, the health agency stated in its press release.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services for more information.

Fox News Digital's Melissa Rudy contributed to this report.