The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned against using tap water for nasal rinsing due to rising cases involving deadly brain infections.

Daily Mail reports unsanitary tap water used to rinse nasal passages introduced amoeba to brains.

In a report published Tuesday, the public health agency reviewed “10 patients with nonkeratitis Acanthamoeba infection who reported performing nasal rinsing before becoming ill.”

“All were immunocompromised, 7 had chronic sinusitis, and many used tap water for nasal rinsing,” the report read.

Daily Mail reports:

Three of those people died of the infection linked to their use of tap water in nasal rinsing tools like neti pots. Another seven people suffered severe illness and were hospitalized.

Acanthamoeba lurks in lakes, swimming pools, tap water, and heating and air conditioning units across the US, and has been found in more than half of US tap water samples.

Unsanitary tap water can reach the brain when flushed into the nose. Researchers used the findings to urge people who rinse their noses to use boiled, sterile, or distilled water.

For the latest study, ten patients ranging in age from 32 to 80 reported nasal rinsing before becoming infected with Acanthamoeba. Seven were male, and three were female.

According to the Daily Mail, the brain infection is rare but has a low survival rate of between seven and 10 percent.

From The Epoch Times:

Acanthamoeba can cause keratitis, which is an infection of the eye that does not spread to other parts of the body, according to the report. However, they can also cause a variety of severe human infections, including granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE)—an infection causing severe inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, typically in those with a compromised immune system.

All ten patients were already immunocompromised. They also all reported performing nasal rinsing before becoming ill. Six patients were diagnosed with GAE, and three of them died.

Seven patients reported nasal rinsing for relief of chronic sinusitis symptoms, while two other patients did it as part of a cleansing ritual, the researchers noted. At least four patients said they used tap water, in addition to one patient who reported using sterile water after submerging their device in tap water.

Over the years since the first acanthamoeba infection was diagnosed in 1956, scientists have tried to find out exactly how people become infected. After examining patient cases in the recent decades, the CDC said the combination of unsanitary tap water and habitual nasal rinsing is likely to be blamed for the problem.

“In these 10 case-patients with invasive Acanthamoeba infection, nasal rinsing may have been the transmission route. Duration and frequency of nasal rinsing behaviors varied, but most patients had been rinsing for months or even years. Whereas amebae could theoretically be introduced during any rinsing encounter, the risk of infection likely increases over time with continued exposure. At least half of the patients in this case series used tap water in their nasal rinsing practices,” the CDC wrote in its conclusion.

“Even though Acanthamoeba and other biofilm-associated amebae have been detected in >50% of US tap water samples, a recent study reported that 33% of US adults believe that tap water is sterile, and 62% believe it to be safe for rinsing sinuses. Educating against the use of unboiled tap water for nasal rinsing may be effective in preventing invasive Acanthamoeba infections, particularly among immunocompromised hosts,” the report added.

 

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