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A 20-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman died from Naegleria fowleri infections after using Neti pots containing tap water to flush their sinuses, ABC News reported.
Naegleria fowleri, a parasite sometimes called the brain-eating amoeba, causes a brain infection called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. Without treatment, the infection can cause death within one to 12 days.
"If you are irrigating, flushing or rinsing your sinuses, for example, by using a Neti pot, use distilled, sterile or previously boiled water to make up the irrigation solution," Louisiana State epidemiologist Dr. Raoult Ratard said in a statement, ABC News reported. "Tap water is safe for drinking but not for irrigating your nose."
