amoeba

Every summer, the media reports on someone who died after being infected with a brain-eating amoeba. These cases usually occur after a person has visited a pool, waterpark, or a tepid lake. These horrifying infections are exceedingly rare, but they can still occur after a person comes into contact with the amoeba at home. Most recently, a woman died after inhaling a brain-eating amoeba from tap water she used in a Neti pot to irrigate her sinuses.

On June 19, 18-year-old Ohioan Lauren Seitz went whitewater rafting with her church youth group. After her boat capsized, she found herself underwater, where a brain-eating amoeba made its way up her nose. This organism ultimately killed Seitz by inducing a form of meningitis. Originally, the facility where she contracted the amoeba did not plan to shut its doors until they had done further investigating, but now the U.S.