[Epoch Times, August 17, 2021](Epoch Times reporter Lin Nan comprehensive report) A 7-year-old boy was infected with a brain-eating amoeba while swimming in a lake in northern California. He died in the hospital about a week later.
The Associated Press reported that last Friday (August 13), the boy’s aunt, Crystal Hayley, confirmed to the media that the boy was diagnosed with primary amoebic meninges. Primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), died on August 7.
PAM is caused by a parasite, Naegleria Fowleri (Naegleria Fowleri), also known as “brain-eating amoeba”, it exists in warm fresh water and soil. The contaminated water enters the human body through the nose and enters the brain, where it causes PAM.
It is reported that Negria flexneri does not really eat the human brain, but rapidly multiplies by invading the meninges and brain parenchyma, causing purulent meningoencephalitis, vascular hemorrhage, and brain parenchymal necrosis. So as to damage the brain tissue.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most cases of PAM are usually fatal. The CDC said that during the first stage of the infection, patients reported severe headaches, fever, nausea and vomiting. As the infection worsens, they may develop a stiff neck and seizures or hallucinations.
According to the fundraising website of the boy’s family, 7-year-old David Pruitt was taken to the emergency room on July 30 and transferred to the University of California Davis Medical Center for treatment.
The Associated Press reported that earlier this month, Tehama County health officials stated that a child under the age of 10 may be infected in a lake in Tehama County, but he did not disclose the specific location or The age of the child.
According to data from the Tihama County Department of Health Services, California has only reported 10 cases of PAM since 1971.
It is not clear when and where the 7-year-old boy swims. Symptoms of PAM usually start 1 to 9 days after infection. The time to death usually occurs between 1 and 18 days after the onset of symptoms.
Editor in charge: Lin Yan #
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