What to know about deadly brain-eating amoeba

Columbia, SC – A 12-year-old boy died from a brain’s amoeban two weeks after a holiday weekend on a popular Lacoline from the South.

The eaters of the brain enters the body when the water is forced from the nose, like when someone jumps or plunges into the water.

It causes an infection that swells the brain and destroys the tissues. Less than 10 cases are reported each year in the United States, but almost all are fatal.

Here are some things to know about the Amibe, his last victim and other dangers on freshwater lakes:

The scientific name of Amiba is Naegleria Fowleri and it is more dangerous in very hot water, including in lakes and rivers in the southern part of the United States and other places with hot summers, sometimes dry like Pakistan and Australia.

The amibe enters the brain through the olfactory nerve in the nose. Once inside, it causes an infection called primary amebic meningoecephalitis.

Symptoms start as a fairly standard headache and nausea. As the pain becomes serious, it is almost always too late to save the infected person. Of the 167 cases reported in the United States between 1962 and 2024, only four people survived, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention American. Most deaths occurred within five days of the disease, according to the CDC.

Jaysen Carr went to swim at Lake Murray at around 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of Columbia during the fourth weekend in July.

He fell ill several days later and died on July 18.

His father and mother had never heard of the Amibe before a doctor in tears told them what tests of his spinal liquid had found.

Clarence Carr said it was shocked to learn South Carolina, like most other US states, has no law requiring public death and infections of the Amibe. The lake was not closed and no water test was done.

“My son was a very intelligent individual. If he had a warning, he would have thought that swimming in the lake was a bad idea,” said Carr.

The amibe is quite common and is the most dangerous when the water is hot.

Researchers try to understand why the infections are so rare. Some people have turned out to have antibodies, reporting that they may have survived the exhibition. Others can die from swelling of the brain and other problems without the amibe being detected.

“My son lost his life by swimming. We assumed it was sure,” said Carr.

Amibe can appear on hot sources, rivers and, on rare occasions, in tap water. This is why doctors recommend using sterile water to clean nasal passages with a Neti pot.

The only way to be completely safe is not to swim in lakes or rivers and, if you do, keep your head out of the water. Pinch your nose or use nose pliers when diving or swimming can keep water out of your nose.

There are other dangers in swimming in lakes and rivers instead of swimming pools, where chemicals can kill dangerous bacteria and other organisms.

A bite of water could contain bacteria E. coli. And while bacteria normally live in the intestines of healthy people and animals, certain strains can cause a range of conditions, including urinary tract infection, cystitis, intestinal infection and vomiting, with the worst cases leading to a deadly potential blood poison.

Algae can also cause disease. Cyanobacteria – also called blue -green algae – are plant -type organisms that live in water.

Algae can look like foam, foam, carpets or paintings on the surface of the water and can grow below.

Organizations can quickly become uncontrollable, or “flowering”, in warm weather, helped by excessive nutrients in fertilizers and pet waste transported by rainwater.

Some of the algae produce toxins that can cause symptoms, including skin irritation, stomach cramps, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, fever, sore throat, headache, muscle and joint pain, oral blisters, convulsions and the centers caused by the centers. and disease prevention.