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Swimmer infected with brain-eating amoeba after visiting Iowa lake

Water Surface
Posted at 7:26 AM, Jul 11, 2022
and last updated 2022-07-11 10:26:05-04

A beach in Iowa has been closed after a swimmer was infected with a brain-eating amoeba.

According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, Lake of Three Fires will undergo testing to determine whether the brain-eating is, in fact, in the water.

The state said the type of brain-eating amoeba that was detected in the swimmer can be found in warm freshwater such as lakes, rivers, and ponds. However, officials added it's extremely rare.

Health officials said the amoeba can travel up a person's nose and into the brain where it destroys brain tissue. It cannot travel from one person to another, health officials stated.

The health department says symptoms of infection from the brain-eating amoeba include severe headache, fever, nausea, vomiting and stiff neck.