Texas woman dies from brain-eating amoeba after cleaning sinuses with tap water

A Texas woman died from an infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba days after she cleaned her sinuses using tap water, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case report.

A Texas woman died from an infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba days after she cleaned her sinuses using tap water, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case report.

The woman, an otherwise healthy 71-year-old, developed "severe neurologic symptoms," including fever, headache and an altered mental status, four days after she filled a nasal irrigation device with tap water from her RV's water system at a Texas campsite, the CDC report said.

She was treated for primary amebic meningoencephalitis — a brain infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, often referred to as the "brain-eating amoeba." Despite treatment, the woman experienced seizures and died from the infection eight days after she developed symptoms, the agency said.

Tap water.Alastair Pike / AFP - Getty Images fileLab tests confirmed the amoeba in the woman's cerebrospinal fluid, according to the report.

The CDC said the infection usually occurs after "recreational water activities" but noted that cleaning sinuses with non-distilled water is also a risk factor for developing primary amebic meningoencephalitis.