A central North Carolina teenager is critically ill with primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a rare and rapidly progressing brain infection caused by the freshwater amoeba Naegleria fowleri, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS). State health officials confirmed the pediatric case while investigating potential freshwater exposure sites during the warm summer months.
Health Officials Investigate Central North Carolina Exposure Source
State epidemiologists and public health workers are collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to determine where the teenager contracted the infection. According to NCDHHS, Naegleria fowleri is a single-celled living organism that thrives in warm freshwater environments such as lakes, ponds, rivers, and hot springs. The amoeba grows best at elevated temperatures reaching up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit, making infections more common during prolonged periods of hot weather when water levels drop and temperatures rise.
“While these infections are very rare, this is an important reminder that this amoeba is present in our state and across the U.S.,” State Epidemiologist Zack Moore, M.D., said in a public statement released by NCDHHS. To protect the family’s privacy, health officials have withheld the teenager’s name, exact age, and specific treatment location.
Understanding Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis Symptoms
Naegleria fowleri enters the human body exclusively through the nose when contaminated water is forced upward during activities like swimming, diving, or water-skiing. Infection cannot occur by swallowing water, and the amoeba is entirely absent from salt water and properly chlorinated, maintained swimming pools.
According to clinical tracking data cited by state health authorities, symptoms of PAM begin with a severe frontal headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting. As the infection advances rapidly over several days, patients develop a stiff neck, seizures, and altered mental status, frequently progressing to a coma. State data shows that the disease is fatal in the vast majority of cases, usually resulting in death within about five days of symptom onset. Between 1962 and 2024, the United States recorded more than 167 cases, with only four known survivors.
Safety Guidance and Risk Reduction Strategies
Medical professionals emphasize that while the infection is exceptionally lethal, overall incidence remains extremely low, with fewer than 10 cases typically reported nationwide each year. UNC Health’s Dr. David Weber noted that individuals who choose to swim in untreated freshwater can minimize their risk of exposure by taking specific precautions.
“If you are in freshwater, try not to stir up the mud and the sediment at the bottom of the shallow lakes,” Weber told ABC11. “If you’re jumping into freshwater, then either wear nose clips, or hold your nose when you jump in.”
Additional safety recommendations issued by NCDHHS and the CDC include keeping the head entirely above water in thermal springs, avoiding shallow water activities during periods of peak summer heat and low water levels, and using distilled or sterile water if rinsing nasal passages.