In Texas, a 10-year-old girl died of amoebic meningoancephalitis, a disease caused by a “brain-eating” amoeba she contracted while bathing in a lake two weeks earlier.
amoeba naegleria fowleri has yet another victim: a 10-year-old girl, who died Monday, September 16, at Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas.
Two weeks earlier, little Lily Mae had been swimming in Lake Brazos and Lake Whitney in Texas. It was there that she contracted this “brain-eating amoeba” through her nose, which in the following days caused amoebic meningo-ancephalitis, a rare and fatal infection of the meninges: the microorganism invisible to the eye nu enters the brain up the olfactory nerve and destroys brain tissue.
A rapid lethal infection
According to the local newspaper KWTXLily Mae developed the first symptoms of the infection seven days after swimming: Complaining of severe headaches and fever, she was taken to the local hospital, where her condition rapidly improved. deteriorated.
Doctors then transferred him to Cook Hospital, which specializes in children. It was there that the diagnosis fell: the little girl contracted amoebic meningo-ancephalitis, a fatal infection. The little girl died after 8 days of hospitalization, surrounded by her loved ones who supported her with their prayers. “Our sweet Lily Mae joined Jesus. She fought back, backed by an army of prayer warriors,” her aunt, Loni Yadon, wrote on her page. Facebook.
Extremely rare cases
amoeba naegleria fowleri is naturally present in warm, fresh water (over 25°C). However, cases of contamination are extremely rare, reassured the Texas health authorities, specifying that there is no “body of water which would present a greater risk compared to another. The cases are extremely rare , despite the millions of people who swim in lakes and rivers each year”.
This is the second case of contamination identified this year in the United States. Last July, Eddie Grey, 59, died after contracting amoebic meningo-ancephalitis in a water park from North Carolina. In 2014, the French Health Agency revealed that 310 cases would have been diagnosed worldwide in fifty years. According to the US Department of Health, between 1962 and 2018, naegleria fowleri infected 145 people in the country. alone 4 of them survived.
Only one case has been detected in France: in 2008, a 9-year-old boy died after bathing in a pool of hot water in Guadeloupe, where the bacteria had been detected.
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