With temperatures on the rise, Florida health officials are urging people to steer clear of stagnant water as it could contain a deadly amoeba.

With temperatures on the rise, Florida health officials are urging people to steer clear of stagnant water.

Naegleria fowleri, a potentially dangerous amoeba, loves warm, wet environments, especially standing water, and it has a habit of killing those it infects.

The amoebas enter the body through the nostrils, so its recommended swimmers keep their heads out of the water and wear nose clips.

While infection is rare, only one person has survived it in the past 50 years.

As the amoeba works its way from the nasal passages to the brain, symptoms become increasingly severe, culminating in death. It takes about five days for the disease to run its course. Interestingly, drinking the same contaminated water does not cause the infection to occur.

In the early stages victims experience headaches, nausea, and vomiting. As the condition escalates seizures, hallucinations and confusion set in as the brain tissue is destroyed.

Other than in warm, stagnant waters, the amoeba has shown up in freshwater lakes and rivers and in hot springs.