A teenager in North Carolina, United States, who was infected with a rare brain-eating amoeba, died last week – the second such death in the country within two months, reports The Independent.
The unidentified patient was first reported to be infected with Naegleria fowleri on 27 August, but no further details were available. The amoeba is commonly found in warm bodies of freshwater, likes rivers and lakes, with exposure leading to the brain infection primary amoebic meningo-encephalitis, triggering seizures, comas, and usually death in around five days.
Fewer than 10 people are infected each year in the United States but 97% die.
Earlier last month, Lillian Smart, an eight-year-old from Louisiana, died after contracting the disease while swimming in a lake, while a six-year-old died in 2021, also from swimming in a pond in the US.
Part of the reason why there may be more infections this summer is the record heat, said health officials. The amoeba thrives in higher temperatures and North Carolina has been threatened by multiple sweltering heat domes over the past couple of months.
Infections typically occur when it’s been hot for prolonged periods of time. US data show most of the 157 cases diagnosed from 1937-2025 occurred in July and August.
Experts say there is no way to eliminate the amoeba from the environment, and that it lives in warm freshwater and soil around the world, including in South Africa. However, infection cases are extremely rare.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Scientists prepare safeguards against possible Arctic zombie viruses
Global warming could free disease-causing viruses