North Carolina teen hospitalized with rare brain-eating amoeba infection

A North Carolina teenager is being treated in intensive care after contracting Naegleria fowleri, a rare brain-eating amoeba that thrives in warm freshwater. The state Department of Health and Human Services said the patient’s identity is being withheld and that details of the condition have not been released. > "Once symptoms start, the disease progresses rapidly and usually causes death within about five days," the department noted.

Investigators are working to determine where the teen was exposed, but the amoeba is known to inhabit ponds, lakes and rivers, especially when water temperatures rise. The agency explained that infection occurs when contaminated water is forced up the nose during activities such as diving, jumping, or water-skiing, not through swallowing.

Naegleria fowleri infections, also called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), are rare in the United States, with fewer than ten cases reported annually. Early signs include severe headache, nausea, vomiting and fever, followed by stiff neck, seizures and coma. The report follows a recent fatal case of an eight-year-old girl in Louisiana who likely contracted the parasite while swimming in a lake.