A Missouri resident is in intensive care with a rare brain infection after time at the Lake of the Ozarks. Families who were in warm freshwater recently should watch for symptoms and move fast.
What’s Happening: State health officials say a Missouri resident tested positive for Naegleria fowleri, the amoeba that can trigger primary amebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is reviewing the person’s recent activities and says the exposure may be tied to water sports at the lake days before symptoms began.
- Watch for fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea, confusion, or vomiting after swimming in warm freshwater. Seek care at once.
- Reduce risk by keeping water out of your nose, using nose clips, avoiding diving or jumping into warm freshwater, and staying away from stirred-up sediment in shallow areas.
Why It Matters: Speed matters. Doctors say this infection can worsen in days, and early care could save a life.
Between the Lines: The infection is rare but fast. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports symptoms can appear within a week of exposure, and deaths often occur about five days after symptoms start.
What’s Your Risk?: Missouri has seen very few cases. The health department confirms one case in 2022 and another in 1987. The CDC has recorded 167 U.S. cases since 1962.
The Big Picture: Warm freshwater can carry this amoeba, especially in the summer. Researchers reported in 2023 that hotter lakes and rivers and heavier floods can raise the odds the organism is present by heating shallow waters and adding organic material.
Doctors at Mercy Hospital in St. Louis say treatment remains limited, and outcomes are often poor. Health officials stress that infections remain rare, but they urge swimmers to assume this organism can exist in warm freshwater and to take nose-protection steps.