Minnesota health officials are looking into whether a brain-eating amoeba left a child critically ill after they swam in a lake earlier this summer. The infection was caused by a freshwater amoeba when the child was swimming in Pope County’s Lake Minnewaska. A person can’t become its victim by drinking contaminated water, but the person can certainly contract it while swimming.
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Once contracted, the amoeba causes severe infections on the individual’s brain which could lead to death.
MDH Waterborne Diseases Unit Supervisor Trisha Robinson said privacy laws restricted officials from providing further details about the condition of the infected child.
Common symptoms of primary amebic meningoencephalitis include vomiting, headaches and nausea that typically sets in about five days after being exposed to the amoeba.
“There is a low-level risk of infection from Naegleria in any freshwater”, Robinson said.
This most often happens when water goes up a swimmer’s nose while swimming or diving in warm freshwater.
There were 35 cases of PAM reported in the U.S.in the last 10 years. The amoeba is called Naegleria fowleri, according to the Health Department.
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Naegleria can be found in different parts of the world, but infections caused by the organism are very rare. Infections of naegleria fowleri are serious but rare. “This case is extremely rare”. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is currently investigating the case.
