Rare Brain-Eating Infection Linked to Missouri’s Lake of Ozarks

This is something I don't ever recall being connected to the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. There are reports that a water-skier has a rare brain-eating infection that is connected to his recent activity on Missouri's most popular lake.

KMOV in St. Louis is reporting that the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed a terrifying medical condition connected to Lake of the Ozarks is true. They say that Naegleria fowleri has been confirmed in a lab from a Missouri adult who had gone waterskiing at Lake of the Ozarks.

The Centers for Disease Control says this brain-eating amoeba is so far there have only been 167 cases reported between 1962 and 2024 and of those cases, only 4 people survived. The Missouri adult is reportedly being cared for in an intensive care unit and there is no report on their condition. I've checked the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services website and there is no official warning about Lake of the Ozarks at this time, but they did make a statement on their Facebook page.

What are the symptoms of this brain-eating amoeba?

The CDC says watch out for "headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting". As this is a developing story, it will be updated if new information is provided or if new cases are connected to Lake of the Ozarks.