Fatal Brain-Eating Amoeba Claims Another Life in Georgia

A resident of Georgia has died from a rare brain-eating amoeba known as Naegleria fowleri, likely contracted while swimming in a freshwater lake or pond. The amoeba, which destroys brain tissue and causes brain swelling, is naturally occurring in warm freshwater bodies and cannot infect people if swallowed or spread from person to person. Symptoms include severe headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting, progressing to a stiff neck, seizures, and coma. Health officials advise limiting water going up the nose while swimming to reduce the risk of infection. This is the sixth case of infection in Georgia since 1962.