Naegleria fowleri

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Brain-Eating Amoeba Claims Life of Georgia Resident

It's the 3rd death attributed to the amoeba this year

(Newser) - The rare brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri has claimed another victim, this one in Georgia. The state's Department of Public Health announced the death on Friday without providing much in the way of details: Neither the Georgia resident's name nor age were given, and while the release noted "...

2-Year-Old Dies From Brain-Eating Amoeba

Woodrow Bundy likely acquired infection at natural hot spring in Nevada

(Newser) - A 2-year-old boy in Nevada has died from a rare brain-eating amoeba infection, apparently acquired at a local hot spring. Authorities have not named the child, though family members identify him as Woodrow Bundy, per KVVU . He is believed to have contracted the brain-eating amoeba, Naegleria fowleri , while visiting Ash...

Person Used Tap Water as Sinus Rinse, Probably Fatally

Floridian dies of brain-eating amoeba infection

(Newser) - A person in Florida has died of the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri, and health officials say tap water may be to blame. Specifically, "sinus rinse practices utilizing tap water," according to a Florida Department of Health press release. Using a neti pot or similar sinus rinsing device with...

Boy Who Visited Lake Mead Dies From Amoeba Infection

Nevada boy developed symptoms a week after exposure to brain-eating amoeba

(Newser) - The CDC has confirmed that an infection of the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri killed a Nevada boy who may have been exposed at Lake Mead earlier this month, the Southern Nevada Health District says. The Clark County resident's name and age were not released but the Las Vegas Review-Journal...

Officials: Brain-Eating Amoeba Likely Killed Nebraska Boy

Warming waters may be helping parasite spread in Midwest

(Newser) - A child likely died from a rare infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba after swimming in an eastern Nebraska river, health officials said. It's the second such probable death in the Midwest this summer and one that raises the question of whether climate change is playing a role. The...

Family: Florida Boy Is Fighting Brain-Eating Amoeba

13-year-old Caleb Ziegelbauer 'is fighting his little heart out on the inside'

(Newser) - Only around 3% of people infected with a rare brain-eating amoeba survive, and the family of 13-year-old Caleb Ziegelbauer is praying that he can beat the odds. The Florida teen is fighting for his life at Golisano Children's Hospital in Fort Myers, CBS reports. Relatives say Caleb started hallucinating...

Tourist Infected With 'Worst Parasite in the World' Dies
Tourist Infected With
'Worst Parasite in
the World' Dies
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Jul 23, 2022 12:50 PM CDT

Tourist Infected With 'Worst Parasite in the World' Dies

Illness caused by Naegleria fowleri amoeba has a 97% fatality rate

(Newser) - The Missouri resident who was infected with a brain-eating amoeba while visiting Iowa has died. The unnamed person is believed to have contracted the amoeba while swimming in Taylor County's Lake of Three Fires in late June; the lake was closed afterward as a precaution. No other cases have...

Visitor to Iowa Infected by 'Worst Parasite in the World'

Health officials testing lake in Taylor County after Missouri resident infected by brain-eating amoeba

(Newser) - A lake beach in southwest Iowa has been temporarily shuttered after a visitor from a neighboring state was infected by a rare but dangerous brain-eating amoeba. A Friday release from the Iowa Department of Public Health notes that the beach at Lake of Three Fires State Park is currently off-limits...

3-Year-Old's Death Triggers Big Changes at Splash Pads

As part of settlement, Arlington, Texas to make updates to splash-pad technology

(Newser) - The parents of a 3-year-old boy who died of a brain-eating amoeba contracted at a splash pad in Arlington, Texas, have settled with the city. Tariq Williams and Kayla Mitchell, who initially sought at least $1 million in a wrongful death lawsuit, will receive $250,000, which their lawyer said...

Texas Mayor After Child's Death From Amoeba: 'We Screwed Up'

Parents of Bakari Williams sue Arlington for $1M

(Newser) - Update: The parents of a 3-year-old Texas boy who died of a brain-eating amoeba found in water samples from an Arlington splash pad he visited are suing the city. Tariq Williams and Kayla Mitchell are seeking at least $1 million in a wrongful death lawsuit alleging negligence at Don Misenhimer...

Brain-Eating Amoeba Kills Student After Swim

Kerry Stoutenburgh, 19, died Aug. 31

(Newser) - Health officials say a New York college student has died of a rare brain infection she probably contracted while swimming in a body of fresh water in Maryland, the AP reports. A spokesman for the Cecil County health department in northeastern Maryland says it was notified by New York state...

'Divine Intervention:' Boy 4th to Survive Brain-Eating Amoeba

Quick-thinking doctors and a happy coincidence saved Sebastian DeLeon, 16

(Newser) - A 16-year-old South Florida boy has made a miraculous recovery after becoming infected with a rare brain-eating amoeba. Sebastian DeLeon is only the fourth person in the US to survive an infection by the Naegleria fowleri parasite, which he contracted while swimming, Florida Today reports. On Aug. 5, the teen...

Teen Dies From Brain-Eating Amoeba After Rafting Trip

Her raft overturned in North Carolina

(Newser) - An Ohio woman who went whitewater rafting in North Carolina has died of an infection after being exposed to an amoeba naturally present in warm fresh water, the AP reports. Lauren Seitz of Westerville, Ohio, visited North Carolina with her church group. The 18-year-old's only known underwater exposure was...

Brain-Eating Amoeba Kills Houston Boy

Three-time junior Olympian went swimming in a Texas state park

(Newser) - A 14-year-old Houston boy who contracted a brain-eating amoeba while swimming in a Texas state park with his cross-country running teammates died over the weekend, reports the Houston Chronicle . Michael John Riley Jr. died 17 days after he contracted primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) while swimming in a freshwater lake at...

La. Parish's Water Invaded Again by Brain-Eating Amoeba

Officials warn residents in St. Bernard Parish not to get water up their noses

(Newser) - Residents in Louisiana's St. Bernard Parish had to deal with a nasty brain-eating amoeba in their water supply last summer—and now the amoeba has made a return appearance. Water in the parish right outside New Orleans has tested positive for Naegleria fowleri, and officials say the state's...

Brain-Eating Amoeba Claims Another Young Victim

Parasite that killed teen not usually found so far north

(Newser) - The Naegleria fowleri parasite is extremely rare, experts say, but that will be no comfort to the family of 14-year-old Hunter Boutain. The Minnesota teenager, the latest victim of the brain-eating amoeba, was dead just 48 hours after he became infected while swimming in a Minnesota lake, the New York ...

Brain-Eating Amoeba Kills Woman, 21

CDC warns against warm, still water

(Newser) - It started with a headache about two weeks ago. But a 21-year-old California woman soon began vomiting, and after being unable to shake the symptoms within a day, went to the hospital on June 17. Officials say she's now dead, having succumbed to a rare infection caused by a...

Brain-Eating Amoeba Found Lurking in La. Water System

Officials tell residents water is OK to drink, but not to get it in their noses

(Newser) - Residents of a Louisiana parish have been warned that there's an unwelcome visitor in their water supply. Routine samples taken from St. John the Baptist Parish's Water District No. 1—which provides water to more than 12,500 people—tested positive for Naegleria fowleri, a brain-eating amoeba that...

9-Year-Old Water Skier Dies From Brain-Eating Amoeba

Kansas girl apparently contracted infection in freshwater

(Newser) - A 9-year-old girl's love of the water ended up sadly dooming her in what her family calls a "one in a billion" occurrence. Hally "Bug" Yust of Spring Hill, Kan., died after contracting an infection commonly known as brain-eating amoeba, reports the Kansas City Star . The infection...

Girl the 3rd Known Survivor of Brain-Eating Amoeba

Kali Hardig, 12, left an Arkansas hospital yesterday

(Newser) - A 12-year-old Arkansas girl who survived a rare and often fatal infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba went home yesterday after being hospitalized since July. Kali Hardig was diagnosed with a devastating infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis after a trip to a now-shuttered Arkansas water park this summer. There were...

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