A Florida resident has contracted a rare brain-eating amoeba, the Florida Department of Health confirmed July 3.
The amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, is native to warm freshwater. The amoeba enters the body through the nose and causes a brain infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis, which is almost always fatal.
Florida has only seen 37 such infections since 1962. Nationwide, there have been 145 known cases, all but four of which were fatal, according to the CDC.