A closed Texas resort, the water has been tested for a "devouring amoeba"



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CNN affiliate KVTV identified the man as Fabrizio Stabile of New Jersey, who visited a surf complex at BSR Cable Park in Waco before developing symptoms in September.

"No other diseases have been reported, and Naegleria fowleri infection is not passed from person to person," said Brittany Behm, a spokeswoman for the US Center for Disease Control.

"The CDC is testing water samples for Naegleria fowleri and will work with local and state health departments on recommendations to provide the facility with ways to reduce potential exposures," she said. -she adds.

The amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, can be found in freshwater bodies such as lakes and hot springs. It infects people by entering the nose and heading to the brain. There, it can cause a cerebral infection that the CDC calls "rare and devastating", called amoebic primitive meningoencephalitis. It's almost always fatal, although a handful of people have survived.

"According to the New Jersey Department of Health, the patient went to the park on 9/8/18 and became ill on 14/9/18," Behm said. Health officials did not identify the name Stabile, although his family and friends spoke out.

A GoFundMe page launched by Stabile's relatives said that he was mowing his lawn when a violent headache hit him. He did not leave the next morning and his symptoms progressed until he was unable to speak coherently or get up from bed. He was rushed to the hospital, where doctors found the amoeba in his cerebrospinal fluid.

"The worst scenario was unfolding before our eyes," says the site.

A pest control drug called miltefosine (sold under the name of Impavido) was used to treat patients and even helped, in two cases in 2013, to save lives. However, according to the GoFundMe page, "at the time of Fabrizio's diagnosis, it was too late".
According to the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District, there have been nine cases of primary amoeba meningoencephalitis in Texas since 2005. The CDC data from the 1960s indicate between zero and eight cases per year in the United States. Nationally, with five cases in 2016, none last year and no other cases reported this year.

According to the local health department, the station is cooperating with an investigation to locate where the amoeba is located in its water supply system. Samples have been taken across the park, but results are pending. "By prudence", the station has closed for the moment.

The station did not respond to requests for comments. His website says, "Now closed for the winter."

The Department of Health recommends keeping the water out of your nose when swimming in warm or untreated fresh water, holding it by the nose, holding it over water, or using forceps. nose.

Debra Goldschmidt and Tina Burnside of CNN contributed to this report.

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