Louisiana state health officials are warning patients about potential dangers of using tap water in the sinus-irrigating neti pot after two patients died of Naegleria fowleri infection.
N. fowleri is known as a "brain-eating" amoeba because it can enter a patient's nose, infect the brain, and cause primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a brain-tissue destroying condition.
The first Louisiana patient died of neti pot-induced infection in June. An additional two patients died of N. fowleri infection in August after swimming in warm, fresh water.
The amoeba usually infects patients that submerge their heads in freshwater lakes and rivers, though it can be transmitted through inadequately chlorinated pool water or underheated (less than 116°F) tap water that enters a patient's nose, a statement from the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals said.
Concerns are growing in southern California over a cluster of “exceptionally rare” cancer cases that has...
Donald Trump announced a new package of tariffs on Tuesday, this time on generic drugs made...
