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CDC Reissues Nasal Irrigation Warning After RV Water–Linked Death

Investigators flagged lapses in disinfection in the RV’s potable water tank as the probable source of deadly Naegleria fowleri exposure.

Naegleria fowleri is an amoeba (one-celled living organism) that lives in soil and warm fresh water, such as lakes, rivers, and hot springs. It is commonly called the brain-eating amoeba because it can cause brain infection when water containing the amoeba rises in the nose. (Photo by: CDC/IMAGE POINT FR/BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • A 71-year-old Texas woman died of primary amebic meningoencephalitis after using tap water from her RV’s water system for nasal irrigation.
  • She reported several sinus rinses with non-boiled water from both the RV storage tank and a connected municipal supply before developing fever, headache and altered mental status within four days.
  • Laboratory testing at the CDC confirmed Naegleria fowleri in her cerebrospinal fluid and the woman succumbed to the infection eight days after symptoms began.
  • Water quality analysis revealed disinfectant levels below regulatory standards in the RV tank and identified the municipal hookup as an additional contamination risk.
  • The CDC now stresses that nasal irrigation devices should only be filled with distilled, sterilized or boiled and cooled water to prevent similar fatalities.