A child dies after contracting an 'comecerebros' amoeba in California hot springs

The minor, whose age is not specified, began to feel strong headaches, vomiting and fever 12 days after visiting a popular recreational site called Hot Ditch, in the Eastern Sierra of California, and two days later he was admitted to intensive care in a regional hospital.

After they detected a cerebral edema diffuse, the doctors extracted a sample of the cerebrospinal fluid from the little one and found amebic organisms of the species 'Naegleria fowleri', which causes a rare disease called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (MAP).

The specialists explain that, both in this and in the other cases of MAP, the infection is not transmitted by swallowing contaminated water, but when the amoeba manages to stay inside the nose and penetrate through the olfactory nerve to the brain, where it destroys brain tissue and causes fluid accumulation.

The boy died on the third day of being interned, and now, a 10-year-old girl identified as Lily Mae Avant, remains in induced coma after becoming infected with 'Naegleria fowleri' in a Texas river. "The amoeba is present in freshwater throughout Texas and elsewhere in the US, and There is not a particular body of water that presents a greater risk, "said Chris Van Deusen, spokesman for the Department of Health Services in that state.

According to the CDC, only 0 to 8 cases of MAP are reported annually in the US, but it has been determined that this warm water parasite causes death in more than 97% of the people who get it. After the fatal case in October, Inyo County authorities issued a public alert and posted warnings in the hot springs in question.