Another child’s life claimed by amoeba.
This week, nine-year-old Christian Strickland became the second victim of amoeba. According to MSNBC, Strickland of Virginia became infected after he went to a fishing camp and died of meningitis on August 5.
According to USA Today, Naegleria fowleri enters the body through the nose and almost always causes meningitis. Amoeba can be found in warm, stagnant water in freshwater lakes, ponds and rivers.
Fox reported that Christian’s mother, Amber, said he dunked in an unidentified body of water during a fishing camp a week before he died. “He went from playing video games to being brain dead,” she told the news organization.
Dr. Michael Edmond, epidemiologist for VCU Medical Center and chief of infectious diseases, said the amoeba swims up the nose, through the sinuses and into the space around the brain, causing meningoencephalitis in a day to two weeks, reported the Associated Press.
The death of Strickland follows the death of a Florida teen. Just a few weeks ago, Courtney Nash,16, died from a Naegleria fowleri infection after she developed it following a dip in a river. The Associated Press reported that Nash had been swimming in a small tributary of the St. Johns River in southern Volusia County. She was later hospitalized with an amoebic infection and later succumbed to the illness.
