A North Carolina man has died after developing an illness caused by an amoeba naturally found in warm freshwater, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Resources announced July 25, according to The State.
Naegleria fowleri, often called "the brain-eating amoeba," can be fatal if forced up the nose. The man who died became ill after swimming in North Carolina's Fantasy Lake Water Park on July 12. North Carolina has issued a public health alert in response to the man's death.
The disease is so rare that there have only been 145 confirmed cases in the U.S. from 1962 to 2018, with "between zero and eight cases annually," according to the release.