Child dies from brain eating amoeba after swimming in infested water
dailyrecord.co.ukA child has died after contracting a rare brain-eating amoeba from swimming in a river. US health officials say that an as-of-yet unnamed youth went for a swim in Elkhorn River in eastern Nebraska on August 8 and had to be rushed to hospital five days later after developing symptoms.They were admitted to the hospital 48 hours after the onset of symptoms but sadly died ten days later, according to Douglas County Health Department.
Authorities believe that the youngster was infected with primary amebic meningoencephalitis which thrives in freshwater bodies of water.The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) later confirmed that it had found Naegleria fowleri in the child’s cerebrospinal fluid (a watery fluid that flows in and around your brain and spinal cord).
According to the Mirror, it was the first death from the deadly disease in the state’s history and the second in the Midwest this summer.“We can only imagine the devastation this family must be feeling, and our deepest condolences are with them.
We can honour the memory of this child by becoming educated about the risk and then taking steps to prevent infection", Douglas County Health Director Lindsay Huse said in a statement Wednesday.
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