A teenager in Florida he cheated death after contracting a brain infection that has a 97% fatality rate. The fourteen year old Caleb Ziegelbaur he spent nearly a year in the hospital battling a brain-eating amoeba. The virus hit him while she was swimming on the beach in Port Charlotte. Doctors believe you have been infected with Naegleria fowleri, which is fatal in 97% of cases.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Mosquitoes, which repellents work? The study on perfumes and soaps: the coconut one keeps insects away
The survivors
Only four out of 154 people who contract the virus microscopic in the United States between 1962 and 2021 survived. Doctors believe it entered Caleb’s nose and infected his brain. Caleb walks a little now, but the damage done to his brain means he needs to communicate with facial expressions and has to use a wheelchair.
Now 14, Caleb Ziegelbaur is sitting down to interview with NBC2. The Port Charlotte teen beat a brain-eating amoeba. The CDC reports Naegleria fowleri is 97% fatal. ⬇
— NBC2 (@NBC2) July 3, 2023
Symptoms
Caleb had swum with his family at Port Charlotte Beach on July 1, 2022. Just six days later, Caleb started having headaches and fever before he was struck down with a fever and complained of hallucinations. On July 9, he was rushed to the hospital, and his mother Jesse told NBC that, even during the hour-long car ride, his condition “deteriorated rapidly.”
He was in a coma at the Golisano children’s hospital, with doctors monitoring him around the clock. Doctors told his mother he had only four days left to live. For eight months, he battled the amoeba while barely conscious.
He returned from intensive rehabilitation in March, which means he can now stand, laugh and communicate, even if his speech is impaired.
💰 Someone get fourteen-year-old Caleb Ziegelbaur a lotto ticket!
🍀 What a lucky young man!
🙏 God bless him.#lucky #amoeba #braindamage #braininfection #health
— Dr. James Reichenbach (@DocReichenbach) July 7, 2023
What is brain eating amoeba
An amoeba is a tiny single-celled animal that can be found in warm fresh water such as lakes and rivers. Typically, the amoeba enters through the nose and travels through the sinuses to the brain, where it triggers primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, a rare and usually fatal brain infection. It spreads through nerves to the brain, where it multiplies and destroys tissue. In the early stages, patients initially experience headache, fever, nausea and vomiting, but days and weeks later they may also experience hallucinations and seizures.