A North Carolina man died after he was infected with a brain-eating amoeba from a day spent in a lake, according to a report.

Eddie Gray, 59, went on a trip with a mission group July 19 to Fantasy Lake in Hope Mills, where he became infected with the deadly illness,

news station WRAL reported

.

He died Monday from complications caused by his encounter with Naegleria fowleri, also known as the brain-eating amoeba, officials said.

The amoeba — which is naturally found in warm freshwater — isn’t deadly when accidentally swallowed but can be fatal when it enters the body through the nose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Local officials warned lake-goers to take precautions when entering the waters.

“Swimming in and of itself is not so much of concern,” Dwayne Holder, interim director of the Cumberland County Health Department, told news station WRAL. “Now, diving, jumping in from heights and maybe some of the forceful activity of submerging, those are situations I would make sure I had nose clips, nose plugs, or I’d pinch my nose if I knew I was going to be forcibly entering the water.”