Brain-Eating Bacteria From Hot Spring Kills Toddler

 A rare “brain-eating” amoeba infection killed a 2-year-old in Nevada, according to a statement published Thursday.

An investigation into the death of a toddler revealed he may have been exposed to a rare, deadly, “brain-eating” amoeba at the Ash Springs in Lincoln County, Nevada, the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health (DPBH) said in a statement. The child is said to have contracted the Naegleria fowleri infection from the environment around the springs, which subsequently caused an extreme destruction of brain tissue, which led to the child’s death.

The child was identified in a Facebook post as Woodrew Turner Bundy. He was said to have suffered for only a week after the amoeba entered his body.

The infection is caused by a single-celled amoeba that is typically found in soil, lakes, rivers, and hot springs where water is both warm and fresh. It enters the body through the nose, and then travels to the brain, the statement continued.

Symptoms of the infection include severe headaches, nausea, fever, vomiting, a stiff neck, seizures and a coma, which almost always leads to death. 

Individual risks of contracting the amoeba tend to be low, but the CDC recommends avoiding jumping or diving into bodies  of warm fresh water, especially during summer months. As the amoeba are more likely to live at the bottom of water sources, people are also told to avoid digging or stirring up sediment.