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Bosque County, Texas (KWTX / Gray News) – A Central Texas girl is struggling to survive several days after swimming in the Brazos River and contracting an amoeba.
According to the #Lilystong Facebook page, Lily Mae swam in the Brazos on Sunday and then had a headache and a fever.
His health quickly deteriorated.
She was first taken to a hospital and then transferred to the Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth, where she stayed Thursday night.
"Her spinal puncture revealed that she had actually contracted a VERY rare and aggressive amoeba," said an article on the Facebook page.
Between 1962 and 2018, only four of the 145 known infected individuals in the United States survived, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Texas Health Services confirmed Thursday that a resident of Bosque County was suffering from a primary amoeba meningoencephalitis, a brain infection caused by the so-called brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri, usually present in freshwater plans such as ponds, lakes and rivers.
"Amoeba is found in freshwater in Texas and elsewhere in the United States, and there is no particular body of water that would pose a greater risk. Cases are extremely rare, despite the millions of people swimming in lakes and rivers every year, "said agency spokesman Chris Van Deusen.
The CDC said that over a 10-year period from 2009 to 2018, 34 infections were reported in the United States. Recreational water was responsible for 30 of these infections.
To reduce your risk of infection, follow the recommendations of the State Department of Texas Health Department:
- Avoid water related activities in the warm fresh water masses during periods of high temperatures and low water levels.
- Keep your nose closed or use nasal forceps when engaging in water related activities in fresh and warm water such as lakes, rivers, or hot springs.
- Avoid getting your head in the water from hot springs and untreated thermal waters.
- Avoid digging or disturbing sediment when participating in aquatic activities in warm, shallow water areas.
- Use only sterilized, distilled or warm water that has been previously boiled for nasal irrigation or sinus flushes (eg use of Neti Pot, ritual nasal ablution, etc.).
Copyright 2019 KWTX via Gray Television Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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