Elkhorn River.Photo: Getty
A child in Nebraska is suspected to have died from infection withNaegleria fowleri, known as a brain-eating amoeba, according to the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.
Ina Wednesday release, the DHHS said the child, whose age was not reported, “most likely acquired the infection,“Naegleria fowleri, “while swimming in the Elkhorn River, shortly before illness.”
“If confirmed, it is the first known death fromNaegleria fowleriin Nebraska’s history,” they added.
Douglas County Health Director Dr. Lindsay Husesaid in a statementWednesday, “We can only imagine the devastation this family must be feeling, and our deepest condolences are with them.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,Naegleria fowleriis a single-celled living organism “that lives in soil and warm fresh water, such as lakes, rivers and hot springs.”
“It iscommonly called the ‘brain-eating ameba’because it can cause a brain infection when water containing the ameba goes up the nose,” the CDC adds. “Only about three people in the United States get infected each year, but these infections are usually fatal.”
There havebeen only 154 infectionsreported to the CDC from 1962 to 2021. “The annual number of U.S. infections ranges from 0 to 8, with higher numbers appearing to occur in heat wave years when air and water temperatures are higher,” they say.
RELATED VIDEO: What You Need To Know About Naegleria Fowleri, The Brain-Eating Amoeba
The Douglas County Health Department revealed Wednesday that the CDC “is conducting further testing to confirm” that the child, who swam in the Elkhorn River on Sunday, did in fact contractNaegleria fowleri.
There will be a press conference held Thursday at 10:30 a.m. local time at the DCHD, the group said intheir Wednesday release.
Symptoms ofNaegleria fowlerigenerally start one to nine days after nasal exposure and many people die within 18 days of showing symptoms,according to the CDC. These include severe headaches, fever, nausea and vomiting in the first stage and stiff neck, seizures, altered mental status, hallucinations and a coma in the second stage.
Primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), the infection caused from the amoeba, is ultimately hard to detect, though, because of the rapid progression of the disease. Diagnosis is typically made postmortem.
Although infection is rare, there is currently no way to reduce the number of amoebas in water. On itswebsite, the CDC saysit is “unclear how a standard might be set to protect human health and how public health officials would measure and enforce such a standard.”
source: people.com
