A man from Carter County in Oklahoma was not likely aware that swimming in the lake would lead to his untimely death.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health revealed on Wednesday that the man, whose identify and age were withheld, died after a swimming last week in the waters of Lake Murray in Ardmore, where he contracted Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM).
PAM is a very rare but a highly fatal disease caused by the single-celled organism called Naegleria fowleri amoeba, which naturally thrive in most lakes, rivers and ponds. The amoeba is known to rapidly grow in number in very warm and stagnant water.
Although the disease is not spread from person to person, people may be exposed to the PAM-causing microorganism when diving or submerging their head in contaminated water. The amoeba would travel from the nose to the brain and destroy the brain tissue.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also says that the infection may occur when inadequately chlorinated pool water and contaminated tap water gets into the nose. Drinking water contaminated with Naegleria though does not cause infection.
Initial symptoms of PAM include headache, high fever, nausea and vomiting but as the disease progresses, affected individuals may suffer from seizures, stiff neck, hallucinations and comma.
Most PAM cases in the U.S. have been fatal. The fatality rate of the disease is in fact more than 97 percent. Out of 133 individuals in the U.S. who contracted the infection since 1952, only three of these survived.
The U.S. had 35 cases of PAM between 2005 and 2015. The disease tends to affect those in the southern states. Oklahoma has had seven PAM cases since 1998. A California woman also died because of the same infection last month.
Health officials said that the tragic death highlights the importance of observing safe swimming behaviors, particularly in the summer, when the water temperature increases.
To avoid infection, experts advise not to force water up the nose when swimming in bodies of water particularly in areas that are shallow and warm. Holding the nose or using nose plugs would also be a good idea when diving into the water.
Swimming in stagnant water, water proliferated by algae, water with foul odor, or water that is cloudy and green is not also a good idea. Chlorine rapidly kills the PAM-causing amoeba so it is advised to swim in properly maintained pools.
Photo: Mike Reeder | Flickr
