Health officials say a child likely died from a rare infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba after swimming in the Elkhorn River in eastern Nebraska on Sunday.
The Elkhorn River had no one tubing down the river on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, in Omaha, Neb. If confirmed, it would be the second death in the Midwest this summer from primary amebic meningoencephalitis, a usually fatal infection caused by the naegleria fowleri amoeba. OMAHA, Neb.
People are usually infected when water containing the amoeba enters the body through the nose while swimming or diving into lakes and rivers. Other sources have been documented, including tainted tap water in a Houston-area city in 2020. Symptoms include fever, headache, nausea or vomiting, progressing to a stiff neck, loss of balance, hallucinations and seizures.
There were 154 cases reported between 1962 and 2021 in the U.S., with only four survivors, according to the CDC. Of those, 71 cases were reported between 2000 and 2021. Texas and Florida recorded the most infections with 39 and 37 cases respectively, and the amoeba is typically found in southern states because it thrives in waters that are warmer than 86 degrees Fahrenheit .
According to the National Water Information System, the surface water temperature near where the child was swimming was between 86 and 92 degrees.
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