Missouri patient dies of rare waterborne amoeba infection

A Missouri patient has died after contracting a rare infection from a deadly waterborne amoeba, officials from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services confirmed Wednesday.

The person was being treated at a St. Louis-area hospital after contracting the amoeba Naegleria fowleri, which is sometimes referred to as the “brain-eating amoeba” because of its catastrophic effects on the central nervous system.

DHSS officials did not offer any other details about the patient or where they were from.

Naegleria fowleri lives in warm, fresh water and can enter the brain through the nose. Inside the brain, it causes inflammation and tissue death. Symptoms include hallucinations, dizziness and seizures.

Fewer than 200 people have contracted the amoeba since 1962, but when they do, infec