13-year-old boy dies in Florida after being infected by a ‘brain-eating’ amoeba

A 13-year-old teenager died after being infected by a ‘brain-eating’ amoeba while on vacation with his family in a camp in North Florida, according to his relatives in the last hours.

This is the young Tanner Lake Wall, a resident of the city of Palatka and who after swimming in the same lake where his father, sisters and around 50 children were, began to feel ill a few days after returning home.

Tanner began to present symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, severe headaches and a stiff neck, according to his father, Travis, told the local News4Jax.

The parents took the child to a local medical center, where professionals indicated that the teenager had pharyngitis.

But both Travis and Alicia Whitehill, the boy’s parents, were dazed by the initial diagnosis and decided to take Tanner to another care facility.

They then drove for an hour and a half to UF Health hospital in Gainesville, where the boy was hooked up to a ventilator and doctors identified the serious cause of his symptoms.

“They said, ‘We’re sorry to tell you this, but your son doesn’t have bacterial meningitis. He has a parasitic amoeba, and there’s no cure,” Travis said.

The dangerous microorganism found in Tanner’s body was the amoeba Naegleria fowleri, known as the ‘brain-eating’ amoeba, a protozoan typically found in freshwater lakes, rivers, and hot springs and can cause an infection in the brain called amoebic meningoencephalitis. primary. It can also be found in poorly treated tap water and poorly chlorinated swimming pools.

By August 2, the little boy showed no signs of brain activity, so his parents decided to disconnect him from the machines that kept him alive. The little one died a few hours later, as a result of the infection.

Travis and Alicia indicated that Tanner was a healthy and active child before he got sick.

“He loved playing outdoors, hunting, fishing. He was someone you always wanted to have by your side,” his parents emphasized.

They seek to raise awareness

Tanner’s parents released their story in the last few hours with the aim of raising awareness among parents about the dangers of this microorganism.

“People have to be aware that between July and the end of September, in the warm waters, this amoeba that can enter your body through your nose. It can be diving. It can be swimming, (practicing) water sports, skiing, things like that, “Travis said.

The family told the media that they hope that health professionals will be more aware of this rare disease and that more signs will be located in warm lakes to warn swimmers of this potential invisible killer.