The boy contracted the parasite while swimming in a lake

Aug 31, 2015 22:06 GMT  ·  By

A rare brain-eating amoeba known to scientists as Naegleria fowleri has claimed yet another victim: a 14-year-old boy in Texas who medical experts say most likely contracted the parasite while swimming in a lake earlier this month. 

The teenage boy, named Michael Riley Jr., passed away at the Texas Children Hospital towards the end of last week. His death was announced by his family over the weekend, on Saturday.

“It is with a heavy heart that we tell you, Michael John Riley Jr. lost his battle on this earth but won a victory for his place in the arms of our Lord Jesus Christ,” they wrote in a Facebook post.

“Michael fought a courageous fight over the past week, allowing him to move on to be with the Lord for future heavenly tasks, a beautiful set of wings, and a pair of gold running shoes.”

It is understood that it was on August 13 that the teenager, a junior Olympian, went swimming with his track team in a lake near Houston. Soon after, on August 19, the boy started complaining of a headache and became feverish.

His mother took him to see a doctor, but at first, medical experts failed to realize what was causing his symptoms. It took them a few days to figure out that he had contracted the deadly parasite, NY Daily News informs.

By then, the infection had already spread to his brain. When he started to get worse, the 14-year-old was put in a medically induced coma. Eventually, he was pronounced brain dead and his family agreed to take him off life support.

Naegleria fowleri has a mortality rate of 99%

The parasite that killed Michael John Riley Jr. populates lakes and other freshwater bodies. It enters the body through the nose and then begins to slowly work its way towards the brain.

Once there, it causes a severe infection called amebic meningoencephalitis. The mortality rate for this brain infection is as high as 99%, specialists explain.

Shortly after contracting the parasite, people begin to experience symptoms such as nausea, fever, severe headaches and vomiting. As the infection progresses, seizures and even hallucinations occur.

In its last stages, amebic meningoencephalitis causes neck stiffness. Once they slip into a coma, patients have little chances to recover and wake up.

As deadly as this parasite is, officials with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention argue that the general public has nothing to worry about, seeing how such infections are very rare.

Thus, it appears that, between the years 2005 to 2014, merely 35 cases of people infected with this freshwater parasite were reported across the entire US.

Then again, it was back in July that a boy by the name of Hunter A. Boutain, a 14-year-old from Minnesota, was killed by the very same parasite.

Experts say that, to keep safe, people swimming in lakes or other freshwater bodies should avoid stirring sediment and do their best not to let water enter their nose.