LINCOLN COUNTY (KTNV) — A Nevada youth has died after being diagnosed with a brain-eating amoeba called Naegleria fowleri.
According to the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, a youth in Lincoln County may have been exposed to the amoeba at a natural hot spring called Ash Springs. That's about two hours north of Las Vegas. The amoeba can be found in soil and warm fresh water in places like hot springs, lakes, and rivers. It enters the body through the nose and travels to the brain.
State officials haven't identified the person who was infected, as of Thursday night.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the infection is rare. From 1962 to October 2022, they said only 154 cases of infection and death from the amoeba have happened in the United States. This case marks the third in Nevada.
The last case was in October 2022 when the Southern Nevada Health District confirmed a Clark County resident had died from the amoeba after possibly being exposed at Lake Mead on the Arizona side of the lake.
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The CDC said although the risk is low, anyone who goes into the water should always assume they're at-risk. They do have a few precautions to keep you and your family safe.
- Avoid jumping or diving into bodies of warm freshwater, especially during the summer.
- Hold your nose shut, use nose clips, or keep your head above water when in bodies of warm fresh water.
- Avoid putting your head underwater in hot springs and other untreated geothermal waters.
- Avoid digging in or stirring up the sediment in shallow, warm fresh water. The amoeba are more likely to live in sediment at the bottom of lakes, ponds, and rivers.
