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North Carolina Teen Dies From Brain-Eating Amoeba
HuffPost • • health
Key Points:
- A North Carolina teenager has died from a rare brain-eating amoeba infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, which thrives in warm freshwater and enters the brain through the nose.
- The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is working with the CDC and local health departments to investigate the source of the infection.
- Naegleria fowleri infections are extremely rare but almost always fatal, with fewer than 10 cases annually in the U.S. and only four survivors since 1962.
- Preventive measures include avoiding water entering the nose during warm freshwater activities and using only distilled or boiled water for nasal rinsing, as the amoeba has also been found in tap water.
- This recent death follows the loss of an 8-year-old girl in Louisiana who died from the same infection after swimming in a lake, highlighting the risk during summer months in the southern U.S.
