Georgia resident dies after exposure to brain-eating amoeba, making it the second death from the infection announced this week

• A Georgia resident died from an infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba.

• The Georgia Department of Public Health said it most likely resulted from a swim at a freshwater lake or pond.

• Earlier this week, a two-year-old boy died as a result of an infection.

A Georgia resident died of a brain-eating amoeba infection, the Georgia Department of Public Health announced Friday, making it the second death to be announced this week.

According to for the press release, there have been five other cases of infection caused by Naegleria fowleri — the scientific name for the amoeba — recorded in Georgia history. There have been 157 in the United States since 1962, according to the CDC.

“A Georgia resident has died from Naegleria fowleri infection, a rare infection that destroys brain tissue, causing brain swelling and usually death,” the health department confirmed in a news release. “The person was likely infected while swimming in a freshwater lake or pond in Georgia.”

The ultra-rare infection has become more common in different parts of the United States as a result of warming temperatures, but are most commonly found in the south. The amoeba thrives in warm freshwater lakes and ponds.

Infections can occur after the amoeba enters the body through the nose and travels to the brain. The amoeba can then cause a brain infection known as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis.

On July 24, authorities announced that the two-year-old died of the same infection after visiting a hot spring in Nevada with his family.

And earlier this year, someone flushed their sinuses with tap water in Florida, too died of the infection.

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