Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

2 days ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

2 days ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

3 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

3 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

3 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

3 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

3 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

3 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

3 days ago
Another Dangerous Amoeba Has Been Linked to Neti Pots and Nasal Rinsing. Here's What to Know
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 1 year ago on
March 13, 2024

Share

Neti pots, used for nasal rinsing, have increased in popularity in the U.S.

Untreated tap water can contain low levels of harmful microorganisms.

Acanthamoeba is common in tap water and can cause serious infections.


NEW YORK — For years, scientists have known people who use neti pots can become infected with a brain-eating amoeba if they use the wrong kind of water. On Wednesday, researchers linked a second kind of deadly amoeba to nasal rinsing.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report that for the first time connects Acanthamoeba infections to neti pots and other nasal rinsing devices.

Officials also renewed their warning that extremely rare, but potentially deadly, consequences can come from flushing nasal passages with common tap water.

“We published this study because we want people to be aware of this risk,” said the CDC’s Dr. Julia Haston.

What Are Neti Pots?

Neti pots are one of the better known tools of nasal rinsing. They look like small teapots with long spouts, and usually are made of ceramic or plastic.

Users fill them with a saline solution, then pour the liquid in one nostril. It comes out the other, draining the nasal passage of allergens and other bothersome contaminants.

Neti pot use in the U.S. has boomed in the last couple of decades, driven in part by the increasing prevalence of allergies and other respiratory diseases, market researchers say.

There also are other methods of rinsing nasal passages, including specially shaped cups and squeezable plastic bottles.

Why You Shouldn’t Use Untreated Tap Water in Neti Pots

Tap water in the U.S. is treated to meet safe drinking standards, but low levels of microscopic organisms can still be found in it. It’s usually not a problem when people drink or cook with the water, but it can pose more of a danger when tap water is used for other purposes — like in humidifiers or for nasal irrigation.

CDC officials, citing a 2021 survey, say about one-third of U.S. adults incorrectly think tap water was free of bacteria and other microorganisms. Nearly two-thirds say tap water could be safely used for rinsing their sinuses.

The CDC recommends using boiled, sterile or distilled water.

If tap water is used, it must be boiled for a minimum of one minute — or three minutes at higher elevations — before it is cooled and used, officials say.

Rare Illnesses and Nasal Rinsing

More than a decade ago, health officials linked U.S. deaths from a brain-eating amoeba — named Naegleria fowleri — to nasal rinsing. More recently, they started to note nasal rinsing as a common theme in illnesses caused by another microscopic parasite, Acanthamoeba.

Acanthamoeba causes different kinds of illness but is still dangerous, with a 85% fatality rate in reported cases.

“These infections are very serious and even life threatening,” said Haston who was lead author of the report published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The new study focused on 10 patients who fell ill between 1994 and 2022, three of whom died. Researchers say they can’t be sure how the patients were infected, but they noted several commonalities: All had weakened immune systems and practiced nasal rinsing.

Seven patients reported nasal rinsing for relief of chronic sinus infections, and at least two of them used neti pots. Two other patients did nasal rinsing as part of a cleansing ritual that is part of Indian tradition.

What Is Acanthamoeba?

This amoeba can be found naturally all over the environment — in lakes, rivers, seawater and soil.

It can cause diseases of the skin and sinuses, and can infect the brain, where it can cause a deadly form of inflammation. The microorganism also been connected to non-fatal, but sight-threatening, eye infections, sometimes through contaminated contact lens solution.

U.S. health officials have identified about 180 infections from the single-cell organism since the first one was diagnosed in 1956.

In the vast majority of cases, researcher don’t know exactly how people became infected. But in reviewing cases in recent decades, CDC researchers increasingly received information that a number of the cases had done nasal rinsing, Haston said.

Research also has indicated it’s common in tap water. A study done in Ohio in the 1990s found more than half of tap water samples studied contained the amoeba and similar microorganisms.

“It’s very likely that we’re all exposed to Acanthamoeba all the time,” she said.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno DUI Driver Slams Into CHP Motorcycle, Tow Truck on Highway 99

DON'T MISS

Russia Downs 120 Ukrainian Drones Overnight, Defense Ministry Says

DON'T MISS

Israel Sends Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Talks Ahead of Netanyahu Trip to US

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

DON'T MISS

Musk Announces Forming of ‘America Party’ in Further Break From Trump

DON'T MISS

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 59, Including 21 Children

DON'T MISS

California’s Politics Drifts Right While New York’s Leans Left

DON'T MISS

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

DON'T MISS

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

UP NEXT

Russia Downs 120 Ukrainian Drones Overnight, Defense Ministry Says

UP NEXT

Israel Sends Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Talks Ahead of Netanyahu Trip to US

UP NEXT

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

UP NEXT

Musk Announces Forming of ‘America Party’ in Further Break From Trump

UP NEXT

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 59, Including 21 Children

UP NEXT

California’s Politics Drifts Right While New York’s Leans Left

UP NEXT

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

UP NEXT

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

UP NEXT

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

UP NEXT

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

4 hours ago

Musk Announces Forming of ‘America Party’ in Further Break From Trump

5 hours ago

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 59, Including 21 Children

5 hours ago

California’s Politics Drifts Right While New York’s Leans Left

5 hours ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

1 day ago

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

1 day ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

2 days ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

2 days ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

2 days ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

2 days ago

Fresno DUI Driver Slams Into CHP Motorcycle, Tow Truck on Highway 99

A suspected DUI driver crashed into a parked California Highway Patrol motorcycle and tow truck along Highway 99 near North Avenue, missing ...

4 hours ago

A 22-year-old suspected DUI driver crashed into a parked CHP motorcycle and tow truck on Highway 99 near Fresno, narrowly missing an officer and bystanders, CHP said Saturday, July 5, 2025. (CHP)
4 hours ago

Fresno DUI Driver Slams Into CHP Motorcycle, Tow Truck on Highway 99

A service member of a drone unit of the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo of the Ukrainian Armed Forces controls a heavy combat drone while it flies over positions of Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk Region, Ukraine June 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
4 hours ago

Russia Downs 120 Ukrainian Drones Overnight, Defense Ministry Says

An Israeli tank maneuvers in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 6, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
4 hours ago

Israel Sends Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Talks Ahead of Netanyahu Trip to US

The Madre Fire near New Cuyama has burned nearly 80,000 acres as of Sunday, July 6, 2025, morning, prompting widespread evacuation orders and warnings across three counties. (CalFire)
4 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk gets in a Tesla car as he leaves a hotel in Beijing, China May 31, 2023. (Reuters File)
5 hours ago

Musk Announces Forming of ‘America Party’ in Further Break From Trump

A search dog operates at Camp Mystic after deadly flooding in Kerr County, Texas, U.S., July 5, 2025. (Reuters/Sergio Flores)
5 hours ago

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 59, Including 21 Children

2024 Democratic National Convention
5 hours ago

California’s Politics Drifts Right While New York’s Leans Left

Solar Farm in Riesel, Texas
1 day ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend