Seahunt
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2002
- Messages
- 4,979
Such a sad story about a beautiful girl. After she became ill and the amoeba was suspected, local news had updates on her progress, but it seems that it's just a matter of time before death. 
In one interview I saw on TV, her mother said she knew about the amoeba but really never expected her daughter to get it from swimming in the river
A Brevard County teenager who became ill after swimming in a small tributary of the St. Johns River in southern Volusia County died from what health officials said was a brain infection caused by an amoeba in the water.
Sixteen-year-old Courtney Nash died about 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, her uncle, Tom Uzel, said Sunday afternoon. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta confirmed the cause of death today. The teen's family said Monday they intend to donate her organs.
Nash was hospitalized last week after contracting what Brevard County Health Department officials believed was a case of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. The microscopic amoeba that causes the usually fatal disease enters a swimmer's body undetected through the nose and then attacks the brain.
The amoeba are most commonly found in the mud bottoms of lakes and ponds but circulate freely once water temperatures reach 80 degrees. They also can be found in poorly maintained swimming pools and hot tubs and, less frequently, in rivers.
Nash was declared brain dead about noon Saturday and died later after life support equipment was disconnected.
"It's very sad to see an active teenager come up with the disease and die," said Dr. Heidar Heshmati, director of the Brevard County Health Department.
Nash was a junior at Astronaut High School. Uzel said the family wasn't up to speaking with reporters Sunday but plans to issue a statement today about her death.
The only guarantee against contracting the disease is to avoid swimming during hot weather in bodies of water where the amoeba live, Heshmati said.
"If you want to be 100 percent safe, don't swim," he said. Those who choose to swim anyway should wear nose plugs and refrain from diving or stirring up the bottom of the lake or pond.
The infection cannot be spread from one person to another or contracted from a properly maintained swimming pool, health officials said.
Symptoms include headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance and bodily control, seizures and hallucinations. Health officials said anyone with any of those symptoms should contact a medical professional immediately.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/b...vard-teen-died-of-rare-amoebic-infection.html
Please be careful!
In one interview I saw on TV, her mother said she knew about the amoeba but really never expected her daughter to get it from swimming in the river
A Brevard County teenager who became ill after swimming in a small tributary of the St. Johns River in southern Volusia County died from what health officials said was a brain infection caused by an amoeba in the water.
Sixteen-year-old Courtney Nash died about 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, her uncle, Tom Uzel, said Sunday afternoon. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta confirmed the cause of death today. The teen's family said Monday they intend to donate her organs.
Nash was hospitalized last week after contracting what Brevard County Health Department officials believed was a case of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. The microscopic amoeba that causes the usually fatal disease enters a swimmer's body undetected through the nose and then attacks the brain.
The amoeba are most commonly found in the mud bottoms of lakes and ponds but circulate freely once water temperatures reach 80 degrees. They also can be found in poorly maintained swimming pools and hot tubs and, less frequently, in rivers.
Nash was declared brain dead about noon Saturday and died later after life support equipment was disconnected.
"It's very sad to see an active teenager come up with the disease and die," said Dr. Heidar Heshmati, director of the Brevard County Health Department.
Nash was a junior at Astronaut High School. Uzel said the family wasn't up to speaking with reporters Sunday but plans to issue a statement today about her death.
The only guarantee against contracting the disease is to avoid swimming during hot weather in bodies of water where the amoeba live, Heshmati said.
"If you want to be 100 percent safe, don't swim," he said. Those who choose to swim anyway should wear nose plugs and refrain from diving or stirring up the bottom of the lake or pond.
The infection cannot be spread from one person to another or contracted from a properly maintained swimming pool, health officials said.
Symptoms include headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance and bodily control, seizures and hallucinations. Health officials said anyone with any of those symptoms should contact a medical professional immediately.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/b...vard-teen-died-of-rare-amoebic-infection.html
Please be careful!
