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Teen's fatal brain-eating amoeba infection linked to water feature
USA Today • • general
Key Points:
- A 17-year-old North Carolina teen, Moises Ponce Mendoza, died from a rare brain infection caused by the amoeba Naegleria fowleri, likely contracted through a water feature at a community mental health center in Durham County.
- Investigations found the water feature at El Futuro had algal growth and inadequate disinfection, with tests confirming the presence of Naegleria fowleri DNA, leading to its closure by health officials.
- The teen exhibited symptoms such as severe headaches before hospitalization, with infection confirmed on August 26 and death occurring on August 31, four days after being reported critically ill.
- Naegleria fowleri infections are extremely rare, typically contracted when contaminated warm freshwater enters the nose, causing primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), which is often fatal within days.
- This case follows a recent similar fatality in Louisiana, highlighting the dangers of warm freshwater exposure during hot periods when the amoeba thrives.
