What is Naegleria fowleri, brain-eating amoeba that killed Texas woman in 8 days? Know how to stay safe

A woman in Texas used unsafe water for nasal irrigation and caught the violent Naegleria fowleri. She died 8 days later.

Another person has died of Naegleria fowleri, a violent brain-eating amoeba, in Texas this time. Earlier in March, a woman in Karachi became the first victim of the same in 2025.

What is the latest case?

The woman, a generally healthy 71-year-old, began experiencing severe neurological symptoms—such as fever, headache, and altered mental status—four days after using tap water from her RV’s water system to fill a nasal irrigation device at a Texas campsite, according to the CDC report.

The patient hadn’t been swimming or spending time in fresh water, but she did use a nasal rinse a few times with unboiled water from the RV’s tap during the four days before she got sick. This pointed to two possible sources of the water she used. First, the RV’s water tank, which supplies water directly to the taps and shower when it’s not connected to city water. This tank had been filled with water sometime before the patient bought the RV three months earlier. Second, the city water itself, which was hooked up to the RV’s system through a hose and water filter, bypassing the tank, when she used it for the nasal rinse.

Even with medical treatment for a suspected PAM infection, the patient had seizures and sadly passed away 8 days after her symptoms began. Tests done by the CDC confirmed that N. fowleri was found in her cerebrospinal fluid.

What is Naegleria fowleri?

Naegleria fowleri, commonly known as the "brain-eating amoeba," is responsible for Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM), a disease that is almost always fatal, with a mortality rate of about 98 percent. This amoeba thrives in warm freshwater environments like lakes, rivers, and hot springs, entering the body when contaminated water passes through the nose.

As per the CDC, between 1962 and 2023, there were 164 reported cases of PAM in the United States. Only four have survived.

Once inside, the amoeba makes its way to the brain, where it destroys brain tissue, causing a rapid decline in neurological function.

What are the symptoms of Naegleria fowleri?

PAM symptoms start with headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting, then progress to stiff neck, confusion, seizures, and hallucinations, eventually leading to coma and death within a few days.

Early symptoms of PAM usually emerge about five days after infection and often include headache, fever, nausea, or vomiting.

As the illness advances, more severe signs may appear, such as a stiff neck, confusion, disorientation, seizures, hallucinations, and eventually coma. After symptoms start, the disease progresses rapidly, frequently resulting in death within five days.

The amoeba cannot survive in cool, chlorinated, or clean water, which lowers the risk of infection in those conditions.

You cannot get a Naegleria fowleri infection from swallowing water containing the ameba. You also can't get an infection from someone else or pass it on to others.