Two Deaths in One Week Linked to Brain-Eating Amoeba
A teenager from North Carolina has died from an infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, a rare amoeba commonly known as the "brain-eating amoeba." His death, on August 31, followed closely by that of an eight-year-old girl in Louisiana, Lillian Smart, who succumbed to the same infection just days earlier. The amoeba is found in warm freshwater environments like lakes, rivers, and natural pools, and can cause an acute brain infection that is almost always fatal.
The North Carolina Department of Health confirmed the teenager's death, expressing condolences to his family and community. The boy, identified as Moises Fonseca Mendoza, was initially taken to a hospital on August 21 with severe headaches but was sent home. His condition rapidly deteriorated, leading his mother to rush him to the UNC Medical Center the next morning, where doctors diagnosed the Naegleria fowleri infection. His mother described his fight for life in the hospital, where he was placed in a medically induced coma.
Naegleria fowleri infects people when contaminated water is forced up the nose, typically during activities like diving, swimming, or water skiing. It is not transmitted through swallowing water or from person to person. Once in the body, the amoeba travels to the brain, causing primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a devastating condition that destroys brain tissue and leads to swelling. Symptoms, which usually appear within one to 12 days after exposure, include severe headaches, fever, nausea, and vomiting, progressing to neck stiffness, confusion, seizures, and coma.
According to the CDC, over 97% of PAM infections are fatal, with most deaths occurring within five days of symptom onset. While treatments involving antiparasitic and antimicrobial drugs exist, their effectiveness is limited due to the rarity of the disease and the rapid progression of the infection, often diagnosed only after extensive brain damage has occurred.
In Israel, three cases of infection have been recorded to date. A 36-year-old man from the Northern District died in 2022. In 2024, two additional cases were diagnosed: a young man who died and a 10-year-old boy who was hospitalized in serious condition. Both had visited the same water park on the Sea of Galilee, but the source of infection could not be definitively determined. Health officials recommend avoiding diving into warm freshwater, using nose plugs, or keeping the head above water to prevent infection.
