A SC girl died Friday after contracting a brain-eating amoeba infection while swimming in a river, according to health officials. The single-cell amoeba, which causes a rare and aggressive brain infection, was reported in Broward County in Florida. The location where the person was exposed was not immediately disclosed but officials say they are investigating the body of water.
Advertisement
“The individual is now in the hospital receiving treatment”, Gambineri said Thursday. “By comparison, in the 10 years from 2001 to 2010, there were more than 34,000 drowning deaths in the U.S.” – i.e., you’re way more likely to drown in a lake than to contract a brain-eating amoeba.
The amoeba can be found in in lakes and rivers – “warm, fresh water” – more commonly found in the southern states. The department will provide updates as our investigation continues. Usually, initial symptoms appear about 5 days after the infection and can headache, fever, nausea, or vomiting.
The reported case comes on the heels of an 11-year old girl who succumbed to a similar infection after swimming in a river in SC on August 7. According to the CDC, only 3 of the 133 people who have had the infection over the past 50 years have survived.
Advertisement
The amoeba infect people by entering the nostrils – so keep your head above water when swimming in freshwater lakes, streams and rivers. Thirty-seven of those infections have been in the last decade and more than half occured in Florida and Texas, according to the CDC.
