A resident of Missouri has been admitted to the hospital following a potential water skiing incident at a local lake, which health officials have characterized as a fatal “brain-eating infection.”

The Missouri Department of Health’s Senior Services Office released a statement on Wednesday indicating that the unidentified patients seem to have been exposed to Naegleria fowleri.

The agency described Naegleria fowleri as “a microscopic single-celled free-living ameba capable of causing a rare and lethal brain infection known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), commonly referred to as the ‘brain-eating’ infection.”

Health officials noted that early investigations imply the patients may have been engaged in water skiing at the Ozarks lake, a reservoir situated in central Missouri, prior to falling ill.

According to the agency, Naegleria fowleri typically resides in freshwater, although PAM is “extremely rare.” The ameba usually enters the body through the nose and makes its way to the brain, inflicting damage on brain tissue.

“Individuals who engage in water recreation should operate under the assumption that Naegleria fowleri could be found in warm freshwater across the United States, although infections remain highly uncommon,” the agency stated.

The health department reported only 167 cases of infection in the United States from 1962 to 2024.

In a separate incident last month, 12-year-old Jasen Kerr tragically passed away after swimming at Lake Murray in South Carolina, subsequently diagnosed with PAM, according to a statement from the law firm representing Kerr’s family, shared on Facebook.

“We support this family not only in seeking the truth but to ensure that no other families have to endure such losses,” stated Bailey Law Office.

Initial symptoms of PAM include headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC warns that most individuals with PAM will succumb within 1 to 18 days after symptoms manifest, leading to coma and death within 5 days.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services advised residents to “steer clear of water-related activities in warm freshwater during elevated water temperatures, utilize nose clamps, and refrain from submerging their heads in the water.”

They also recommended avoiding the disturbance of wet sediments, as “Naegleria fowleri amebas are likely to inhabit sediments at lakes, ponds, and riverbeds.”