Texas girl, 10, dies after contracting a 'brain-eating' amoeba from swimming in a river
A 10-year-old girl has died after contracting a rare infection from a brain-eating amoeba, family members and public health officials confirmed.
Lily Avant, who contracted the amoeba while swimming in a river near her home in Texas, "fought the good fight" her aunt, Loni Yadon said in a Facebook post thanking those who have supported their family.
"To see the outpouring of love and togetherness in a time where hate is the norm, has been refreshing," Yadon wrote. "THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for caring and standing with us while we fought with her!"
When Lily started suffering from a headache and fever on Sept. 8, doctors suspected a common viral infection and prescribed ibuprofen and hydration, according to a Facebook post from her cousin, Wendy Scott. As her condition worsened, Scott said Lily was taken to the emergency room where she was treated for bacterial and viral meningitis.
The girl was then transferred to Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, where a spinal tap revealed she had a "rare amoeba that is aggressive with a high fatally rate." Doctors determined she'd contracted Naegleria foweleri, a "brain-eating" amoeba found in fresh water bodies such as ponds, lakes and rivers, according to KXAS-TV.
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"She is a fighter. She is stronger than anybody I know." her father John Crawson told the station.
Lily was put in a medically induced coma to allow doctors to treat the swelling in her brain, KXAS-TV reported. Her family shared updates on her condition through a Facebook group, #LilyStrong, with more than 16,500 members.
The amoeba enters through the nose and travels to the brain, where it can cause primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Symptoms of the brain infection caused by the amoeba start about five days after infection and can include stiff neck, confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance, seizures and hallucinations, the CDC said. After symptoms emerge, patients typically die within 1 to 12 days.
Only four out of 145 known infected individuals in the United States from 1962 to 2018 survived Naegleria fowleri. Lily's family had hoped she would be the fifth survivor, Scott said.
This was the first confirmed death in Texas this year, according to state health department spokesperson Chris Van Deusen. Van Deusen said although the amoeba itself is common in untreated bodies of water across the southern United States, Texas usually sees one or no cases each year.
"It is extremely serious and almost always fatal," he said. "Since it’s so rare, we don’t know why a few people get sick while millions who swim in natural bodies of water don't."
Follow N'dea Yancey-Bragg on Twitter: @NdeaYanceyBragg