A 36-year-old woman died in the Pakistani city of Karachi last month after contracting Naegleria fowleri, a health official confirmed on Monday, marking the first death this year from the deadly brain-eating amoeba.

Naegleria fowleri has a fatality rate of more than 98 percent. It is transmitted when contaminated water enters the body through the nose and cannot be passed person-to-person.

Pakistan has seen a rise in Naegleria fowleri cases in recent years, with over a hundred people dead since the first reported infection in 2008. Five people died from the infection last year.

Symptoms of Naegleria fowleri infection include severe headache, altered taste, high fever, light sensitivity, nausea and vomiting. Death usually occurs five to seven days after infection.