A child in Nebraska is suspected to have died due to an infection from a rare brain-eating amoeba while swimming in the state’s Elkhorn River.
The amoeba, which is called Naegleria fowleri, can cause primary amebic meningoencephalitis, a brain infection that can happen when water containing the amoeba rushes up a person’s nose and reaches their brain, according to Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services. The DHHS did not clarify the age or identity of the person who died, though local outlet KETV7 reported that it was a child.
“Millions of recreational water exposures occur each year, while only 0 to 8 Naegleria fowleri infections are identified each year,” said Nebraska epidemiologist Matthew Donahue. “Infections typically occur later in the summer, in warmer water with slower flow, in July, August, and September. Cases are more frequently identified in southern states but more recently have been identified farther north.”
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Donahue recommends limiting the opportunities for freshwater to get into one’s nose in order to reduce infection. DHHS also suggests avoiding freshwater that has been exposed to warmer weather for a prolonged period, not letting a person’s head go underwater, and for people to plug their noses in the event that they do go underwater.
Symptoms caused by primary amebic meningoencephalitis include severe frontal headaches, fever, nausea, and vomiting. Only four people in the United States out of 154 have survived infection from 1962 through 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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A total of 19 states in the U.S. have reported cases of Naegleria fowleri from 1962 to 2021. Texas, Florida, and California were the states with the most reported cases, with Texas at 39, Florida at 37, and California at 10, according to the CDC.
