‘Brain-eating’ amoeba kills Missouri resident after Lake of the Ozarks trip
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Missourian who contracted an amoeba that kills brain cells at the Lake of the Ozarks has died, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said Wednesday.
The Department of Mental Health and Senior Services stated in a news release that the person, whose gender and age have not been released, died in a St. Louis-area hospital. DHSS has so far only identified the patient as an "adult Missouri resident."
The person was sick after contracting Naegleria fowleri, possibly during a waterskiing trip to the Lake of the Ozarks, DHSS stated in a news release last week. As of Aug. 13, the state was still investigating the source of exposure.
The amoeba is common and found naturally in warm, fresh water. However, cases of infection are rare, with 167 reports in the United States between 1962 and 2024, according to DHSS.
A University of Missouri Health Care doctor told ABC 17 News last week that symptoms show up about one to 12 days after the amoeba makes its way into the brain by entering through the nose. Meningitis, or inflammation in the brain, is a common symptom of a brain-eating amoeba.
Other symptoms include severe headache, fever, stiff neck, vomiting or changes in mental state.
