BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed a new case of brain-eating amoeba on Wednesday. 

The resident most likely got infected in Lake Claiborne, according to LDH. 

Naegleria fowleri, or the brain-eating amoeba, is often found in warm freshwater lakes, rivers, canals and ponds throughout the U.S. Infection occurs when water rushes up the nose and reaches the brain. The infection is very rare but is almost always fatal. 

People cannot be infected by just swallowing water, and it cannot be spread person to person. The amoeba is also not found in salt water or treated pools. 

Symptoms start with a severe headache, fever, nausea and vomiting, and progress to stiff neck, seizures and coma that can lead to death. They usually begin about five days after infection but can start within one to 12 days. 

There have only been 180 known cases throughout the U.S. from 1937 to 2025. However, LDH still advises residents to limit the amount of water that goes up their nose when in fresh water by keeping their heads out of the water or using nose clips.