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“Our heart-felt condolences and sympathies are with the family and friends of this child,” State Epidemiologist Zack Moore, M.D., said in a press release. “Although these infections are very rare, this is an important reminder that this amoeba is present in North Carolina and that there are actions people can take to reduce their risk of infection when swimming in the summer.”
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A Naegleria fowleri infection, which is called a primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), can present itself with symptoms like severe headache, fever, nausea and vomiting, which can lead to stiff neck, seizures and coma, or result in death, per NCDHHS.
While the infections are rare — there were 147 recorded individual cases in the U.S. between 1962 and 2019 — risk of infection increases in hotter temperatures. Naegleria fowleri thrives in warmer water, and can grow best at temperatures up to 115°F.
According to theCDC, PAM is nearly always fatal. Only four people in the U.S. have survived infection from the amoeba out of the cases recorded since 1962. Symptoms typically begin between one and nine days after exposure, and people die between one and 18 days after symptoms begin to show.
“Anyone that enjoys time in a body of water should cover their nose before they go in or use nose clips,” Chamorro said. “As long as they don’t put their head underwater, they are okay.”
To limit risk of infection, the NCDHHS recommended people limit the amount of water going up their nose and avoid activities in freshwater during warm temperatures and low water levels. They also cautioned against stirring up sediment in “shallow, warm freshwater areas.”
The North Carolina child’s death follows thedeath of a seven-year-old California boyearlier this month who also contracted a rare brain-eating amoeba. David Pruitt, who contracted the illness after swimming in a Northern California lake, died from primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) Aug. 7 after being put on life-support with severe brain swelling.
source: people.com
