STILL SAFE TO DRINK, THOUGH!

Florida Man Killed by ‘Brain-Eating’ Amoeba Likely in Tap Water

Before you panic: The infection can’t be contracted from just drinking tap water, according to health officials.

A man in Florida died from a “brain-eating” amoeba likely contracted from tap water, according to health officials. The person, whose name hasn’t been released, died last week from a microscopic amoeba called Naegleria fowleri. But don’t stop drinking water from the tap just yet. It’s believed he contracted the illness from doing a sinus rinse, and health officials said infections like this do not come from simply drinking tap water. “You basically have to forcefully push water through your nose in order to contract this, it’s a very oddly specific way to catch it,” Florida Department of Health spokesperson Jae Williams told the Daily Beast. “The general public is not in any danger of being infected.” Infections are very rare, with just 31 Americans infected from 2012 to 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.