A Seattle woman died after becoming infected with a brain-eating amoeba.
The woman said to her doctor had used tap water in a neti pot instead of saline or sterile water. The doctors believe that an amoeba that has entered through her upper nasal cavity entered her bloodstream and eventually reached her brain.
A Swedish neurosurgeon neurosurgeon said this was a rare situation, but warned patients to follow a neti pot for nasal blockage when using the instructions. The instructions call for saline or sterilized water. They think the woman used filtered water from a jug in her fridge.
Dr. Charles Cobbs is the neurosurgeon who operated on the patient in January 201
As Dr. Cobbs first operated on it, he discovered a tumor the size of a cent. He removed it and sent it to John Hopkins in a lab. The pathologist discovered that they were amoebas. The condition of the woman deteriorated rapidly. About two weeks later, Dr. Cobbs another surgery and found a mass the size of a baseball. He removed the mass and gave the woman a large dose of medicine, but she could not be saved.
Now they think the wound on her nose is connected. Swedish doctors wrote a case study for the International Journal of Infectious Diseases to educate other doctors about their rare findings.
Alison Grande of KIRO 7 speaks this afternoon with Dr. Ing. Cobbs in Swedish on the rare situation and how this could be possible happened. She is working on the story for KIRO 7 News at 18:00.
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