Amoebic infection at a glance

• Naegleria is an amoeba commonly found in warm fresh water and soil.

• Only one species infects people, Naegleria fowleri. It causes a very rare but severe and usually fatal brain infection. It can't spread from person to person.

• The amoeba enters the body through the nose, during swimming or diving.

• Thirty-two cases were reported in the United States from 2002 through 2011.

• The only previously confirmed case in Minnesota was in August 2010.