Brain-Eating Amoeba Kills Teen Olympic Athlete
The family of the 14-year old star athlete who succumbed to the deadly brain eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri in Houston has vowed to spread awareness about the illness the organism causes.
"As Michael's work here is done, we will begin our work in honoring him by continuing with our search for a better understanding along with an awareness campaign in hopes of sparing others from the tremendous pain and agony that follows the onset of Naegleria fowleri and primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM)," the family of Michael John Riley Jr said in a Facebook post.
According to ABC News, the teen may have contracted the amoeba during a swim in the Sam Houston State Park on August 13. Within days, his headache had worsened into confusion and loss of brain function. The family wrote teen that suffered loss of blood supply to the brain and could not function without support.
Naegleria fowleri is known to exist in the sediment on the beds of still and warm freshwater bodies. When swimmers stir up the sediment, the organism enters water and the brain of the swimmer through the nose. It causes amebic meningoencephalitis, infection and inflammation of the brain. Experts said the amoeba rarely strikes but most cases of infections have been fatal. Only three people are known to have survived an infection.
"It is unknown why certain persons become infected with (Naegleria fowleri) while millions of others exposed to warm recreational fresh waters do not, including those who were swimming with people who became infected," CNN quoted CDC.
