The brain-eating amoeba is typically found in southern states because it thrives in warm water, but infections have migrated north in recent years.
WASHINGTON — A Nebraska child died this week from a suspected case of an “extremely rare” infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba, health officials have announced.
The child, whose age and name has not been released, likely became infected by the naegleria fowleri amoeba while swimming Sunday in the Elkhorn River in eastern Nebraska, the Douglas County Health Department said in a news release.
If further testing from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms the diagnosis, it would be the first known case of naegleria fowleri in Nebraska’s history, according to the state’s health department.
The amoeba is typically found in warm freshwater places, like lakes and rivers, and enters the body through a person’s nose, the CDC explains on its website. It causes primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), which is a brain infection that quickly leads to the destruction of brain tissue.
If confirmed, it would also be the second death in the Midwest this summer from the very rare infection.
Last month, a Missouri resident died after contracting a brain-eating amoeba while swimming at Lake of Three Fires near Bedford, Iowa, about 120 miles north of Kansas City. It was the first case discovered in Iowa since infections were first confirmed in 1962 and possibly ever, the CDC said.
The agency stressed that you can’t become infected by drinking contaminated water.
Nebraska’s Health Department noted the infection is “extremely rare,” but is also “nearly always fatal.” According to data from the CDC, the fatality rate is more than 97%. Only four people out of 154 known infections in the U.S. from 1962 to 2021 have survived.
The amoeba is typically found in southern states because it thrives in waters that are warmer than 86 degrees Fahrenheit.
But infections have migrated north in recent years, including two cases in Minnesota since 2010, Douglas County Health Director Dr. Lindsey Huse noted during a news conference Thursday.
“Our regions are becoming warmer,” she said. “As things warm up, the water warms up and water levels drop because of drought, you see that this organism is a lot happier and more typically grows in those situations.”
According to the National Water Information System, the surface water temperature near where the child was swimming was between 86 and 92 degrees.
“Millions of recreational water exposures occur each year, while only 0 to 8 Naegleria fowleri infections are identified each year. Infections typically occur later in the summer, in warmer water with slower flow, in July, August, and September,” said Nebraska state epidemiologist Dr. Matthew Donahue. “Cases are more frequently identified in southern states but more recently have been identified farther north. Limiting the opportunities for freshwater to get into the nose are the best ways to reduce the risk of infection.”
Last year, a 3-year-old boy was killed by a brain-eating amoeba linked to a splash pad in Arlington, Texas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.