3rd Death Linked to Brain-Eating Amoeba

And yesterday's terrifying brain-eating amoeba story gets more terrifying: A third death from earlier this year has been linked to the amoeba. A 20-something in Louisiana died in June after using tap water in a neti pot, a small container used to rinse out the nose and sinuses. He had not been swimming or in contact with surface water, as the two children who died recently had been, officials say.

Rather, they found the amoeba in the home's water system, in a contained problem—it was not found in the city water, the AP reports. The June death is unusual; usually warm ponds or lakes are to blame. In an average year, three deaths are reported from the extremely rare infection; despite this recent wave of cases, an official says there is no sign that the numbers are increasing. (More amoeba stories.)