Boy, 7, Dies From Brain-Eating Parasite After Swimming in Northern California Lake

A seven-year-old boy has died from a rare brain-eating parasite after swimming in a Northern California lake.

On July 30, David Pruitt, 7, was taken to the emergency room and then flown to UC Davis Medical Center with severe swelling in the brain. There, he passed away on Aug. 7, according to USA Today. His aunt said the boy died from primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM.

PAM is an extremely rare infection. So rare that there have only been 10 cases reports in California since 1971. Reports show the infection comes from the parasite called Naegleria fowleri, which can infect people when contaminated waters enter through a person’s nose. The child was likely infected in a Tehama County Lake, reports say.

The ameba that creates the infection is usually found in warm freshwater from lakes, rivers, and hot springs. Swimming pools can also carry the ameba if they are not treated with chlorine.“Once the ameba enters the nose, it travels to the brain where it causes PAM, which is usually fatal,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states.