North Carolina teenager dies from rare brain-eating amoeba

A teenager in North Carolina, identified by his mother as Moises Ponce Mendoza, has died after contracting an infection from Naegleria fowleri, a rare single-celled organism commonly known as the ‘brain-eating amoeba’. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services confirmed the death on August 31.

According to family accounts, the symptoms began with a severe headache. After an initial hospital visit in Burlington on August 21, the teenager's condition deteriorated, leading to a coma and subsequent death. The infection occurs when contaminated warm freshwater enters the nose, allowing the organism to reach the brain and cause primary amebic meningoencephalitis.

This death follows the recent passing of an eight-year-old girl, Lillian Smart, in Louisiana, who also died from a Naegleria fowleri infection. Health officials note that while these infections are rare, they are frequently fatal, with a mortality rate of approximately 97 percent. State epidemiologist Dr. Zack Moore noted that the presence of the amoeba serves as a reminder for caution when swimming in warm freshwater environments during hot months.