Take steps to protect against deadly amoeba

The parents of a young South Carolina boy who died after contracting a brain-eating amoeba in a state lake on Independence Day want others to know about the dangerous one-celled organism that took the boy's life in July.

The amoeba, also called Naegleria fowleri, lives only in fresh water and is rare, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says to avoid being infected, swimmers should use nose clips or hold their nose when jumping into or dunking your head into warm, fresh bodies of water.

It is rare enough that only a few laboratories across the United States test for it, and sometimes it is not diagnosed until after a victim's death, according to the CDC.

Jaysen Carr, 12, contracted the infection after swimming with his family at Lake Murray in Columbia on July 4, and he died July 18 after initially suffering from headache and nausea.

According to the CDC, the amoeba can destroy brain tissue, and infections are nearly always fatal. It is "a kind of one-celled organism that thrives in warm freshwater lakes, rivers and hot springs." It can be forced into the brain through the nose after a swimmer dives into one of these bodies of water or stirs up sediment that contains the organism.

In still rarer cases, a few people have had infections after using tap water that contained the amoeba to clear their sinuses, such as with a Neti pot, or after playing at a splash pad or a surf park with inadequate chlorine. It can also be present in "poorly maintained swimming pools."

The amoeba may be more common during stretches of hot weather, according to the CDC: "Infections often happen when it's been hot for long periods, resulting in higher water temperatures and lower water levels."

If your family has been swimming in freshwater recently, keep a watchful eye for symptoms of infection. Early symptoms can include headache, fever, nausea and vomiting, and later symptoms can include stiff neck, confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance and hallucinations.

The CDC recommends:
- Hold your nose or wear a nose clip if you are jumping or diving into fresh water.
- Always keep your head above water in hot springs.
- Don't dig in shallow water because the amoeba is more likely to live there.
- Use distilled or boiled tap water when rinsing your sinuses or cleansing your nasal passages.