Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis Associated with Exposure to Swimming Pool Water Supplied by an Overland Pipe - Inyo County, California, 2015

On Jun 17, 2015, a previously healthy woman aged 21 years went to an emergency department after onset of headache, nausea, and vomiting during the preceding 24 hours. Upon evaluation, she was vomiting profusely and had photophobia and nuchal rigidity. Analysis of cerebrospinal fluid was consistent w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2016, Vol.65 (16), p.424
Main Authors: Johnson, Richard O, Cope, Jennifer R, Moskowitz, Marvin, Kahler, Amy, Hill, Vincent, Behrendt, Kaleigh, Molina, Louis, Fullerton, Kathleen E, Beach, Michael J
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
Drinking water
Infections
Swimming pools
Water temperature
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Summary:On Jun 17, 2015, a previously healthy woman aged 21 years went to an emergency department after onset of headache, nausea, and vomiting during the preceding 24 hours. Upon evaluation, she was vomiting profusely and had photophobia and nuchal rigidity. Analysis of cerebrospinal fluid was consistent with meningitis. She was empirically treated for bacterial and viral meningoencephalitis. Her condition continued to decline, and she was transferred to a higher level of care in another facility on June 19, but died shortly thereafter. No organisms were seen in the cerebrospinal fluid; however, real-time polymerase chain reaction testing by CDC was positive for Naegleria fowleri, a free-living thermophilic ameba found in warm freshwater that causes primary amebic meningoencephalitis, an almost universally fatal infection.
ISSN:0149-2195
1545-861X