A man infected with primary amebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM , in Missouri has died, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported Wednesday.

The man died Tuesday at a St. Louis-area hospital.

The man contracted the illness after being exposed to a "brain-eating" amoeba. The infection kills brain cells very rapidly and is usually deadly. However, the infection is extremely rare.

An infectious disease specialist with MU Health Care said there are billions of exposures to the amoeba every year , but those exposures result in 10 or fewer cases annually.

The key risk factor is exposure to warm, fresh water, which patients have typically encountered during recreational water activities. The state health department said the man who died had been water skiing at the Lak

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