A teenager in North Carolina has tragically passed away after contracting a rare brain-eating amoeba, which is often found in freshwater environments like lakes and rivers, according to various sources.
The young boy, known as Moises Ponce Mendoza to his family, died on Monday after developing an uncommon condition caused by Naegleria fowleri, as reported.
“We express our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and community affected by this sad loss,” stated the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services in a release obtained by the media.
The health department indicated that Mendoza was “critically ill and receiving medical care” after being infected with Naegleria fowleri, a single-celled organism typically found in warm freshwater environments.
This amoeba can enter the body through the nose and travel to the brain, leading to an infection known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis, which can result in coma and death within a few days.
The moniker “brain-eating amoeba” reflects its ability to infect the brain and destroy tissue, according to health authorities. Such infections are most common during the summer months, often following swimming in lakes or rivers when water levels are low and temperatures rise.
Initial symptoms usually include a severe headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting, escalating to stiff neck, seizures, and, eventually, coma.
Mendoza’s mother, Monica Mendoza, detailed in a GoFundMe post last week, written in Spanish, that her son was a “young man full of life” now fighting for his life in a coma.
“It all started with severe headaches; I never thought it could escalate to something so serious,” she shared in a translated statement on the fundraising page.
Monica mentioned taking her son, whose exact age wasn’t disclosed, to a Burlington hospital, but was initially told he might be able to return home.
However, his health deteriorated quickly, necessitating his transfer to the University of North Carolina hospital’s emergency room on Saturday morning, where doctors found that he had contracted the infection from the exceedingly rare amoeba.
“From that point on, our lives changed completely. Moises is in a coma; the doctors are doing all they can to treat him and help him survive,” she explained in the fundraiser aimed at covering medical costs.
The NCDHHS has not yet responded to additional requests for information.
The department also mentioned that the source of Mendoza’s infection is currently being investigated. Generally, fewer than ten individuals in the U.S. are diagnosed with primary amebic meningoencephalitis each year.
This heartbreaking incident occurred shortly after an 8-year-old girl named Lillian Smart died from a related amoeba infection, which was linked to swimming in a lake in northern Louisiana.
