An Oklahoma man who died of a brain infection is believed to have contracted a brain-eating amoeba while swimming in a southern Oklahoma lake popular with area residents.

The man, whose identity state officials have not released, swam in Lake Murray near Ardmore, Oklahoma, about 20 miles north of the Texas border.

The amoeba — naegleria fowleri — travels to the brain via the olfactory nerve where it is almost impossible to treat, said Chris Van Deusen, a public information official with Texas State Department of Health Services.

While the amoeba is common, only a few cases have been reported.

“We average a little less than one case per year in Texas,” he said.

The amoeba is “ubiquitous” Van Deusen said but there’s no need for residents to panic.

“I don’t think people need to be afraid but they do need to be aware,” he said. “Children are of particular concern because they are more likely to get water far up their nose.”

Precautions against naegleria fowleri include pinching the nostrils shut or using nose clips when diving, he said.

Infection with naegleria fowleri results in primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a disease which causes brain inflammation and is almost always fatal.

“PAM is an extremely rare and usually deadly disease caused by infection with a single-celled organism (ameba), Naegleria fowleri,” according to the Oklahoma State Health Department of Health Services. “These disease-causing organisms are naturally present in most lakes, ponds, and rivers but multiply rapidly in very warm and stagnant water. Persons may be exposed to Naegleria fowleriameba when they dive or submerge their head in contaminated water. The ameba then travels up the nose to the brain where it destroys the brain tissue.”

Initial symptoms of PAM start about five days after infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Symptoms may include headache, fever, nausea, or vomiting. Advanced symptoms can include stiff neck, confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance, seizures, and hallucinations. 

The disease progresses rapidly and usually causes death within five days but death can occur within a single day.

Some patients have continued up to 12 days with PAM.

Area lakes and other sources of surface water likely contain naegleria fowleri, Van Deusen said.

“We find it in all types of bodies of water,” he said. However, swimming pools and hot tubs with proper chlorination are safe, he noted.

The horrific nature of PAM and its high fatality rate make isolated cases such as the Oklahoma patient’s death top news, Van Deusen noted but he said residents need not avoid swimming in lakes and other bodies of water.

“It certainly catches people’s attention because it’s rare and kind of mysterious,” Van Deusen said. “But we have far more drownings every year than deaths due to PAM. The most important thing is for people to take precautions to keep themselves safe.”

Between 2005 to 2014, 35 naegleria fowleri infections were reported in the U.S., according to the CDC.

Of those cases, 31 people were infected by contaminated recreational water, three people were infected after using nasal irrigation using contaminated tap water, and one person was infected by contaminated tap water used on a backyard water slide.

The Daily Oklahoma has reported Lake Murray remains open to swimmers.

Officials at the OSHHS are encouraging people to observe these water safety tips to avoid illness while swimming in lakes, rivers and other natural bodies of water:

Avoid forcing water up the nose when swimming, playing, jumping, diving, or dunking your head into bodies of fresh water, such as lakes and ponds. This is especially important for water that is near shore, shallow, and warm.

Hold your nose or use nose plugs when jumping or diving into water.

Never swim in stagnant water, water that is cloudy and green, water that has mats of algae, or water that has a foul odor.

Do not swim in areas posted as “No Swimming”.

Avoid swallowing water from rivers, lakes, streams, or stock ponds.

Swimming in properly maintained pools prevents PAM because chlorine rapidly kills the ameba.

Trigg writes for The Gainesville (Texas) Daily-Register