Central North Carolina Teenager Critically Ill With Rare Brain Infection
A teenager from central North Carolina has become critically ill with primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a rare and often fatal brain infection caused by the Naegleria fowleri amoeba, state health officials confirmed.
Greenville Spartanburg Asheville Anderson, SC, August 28, 2026 —
State health officials have confirmed that a teenager from central North Carolina has fallen critically ill with a rare and frequently fatal brain infection known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).
The infection is caused by the Naegleria fowleri amoeba, a microscopic single-celled organism. This amoeba is naturally found in warm freshwater environments, such as lakes, rivers, and hot springs. In very rare instances, it can enter the brain through the nose, typically when water containing the amoeba is inhaled during activities like swimming, diving, or water skiing. Once inside the brain, the amoeba destroys brain tissue, leading to a severe infection.
According to health authorities, PAM is extremely rare. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that only a small number of infections occur each year in the United States. However, the infection is almost always fatal, with mortality rates exceeding 95%.
Specific details regarding how or where the teenager contracted the infection were not immediately available. State health officials have not released further information about the patient’s condition or the timeline of their illness, citing privacy concerns. The location within central North Carolina where the resident is from was also not specified.
N. fowleri infections are not caused by drinking contaminated water, but by water entering the nose. The amoeba cannot survive in properly treated swimming pools or in chlorinated tap water. Early symptoms of PAM can include severe headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting. As the disease progresses, symptoms can advance to stiff neck, seizures, hallucinations, and eventually coma.
Health departments typically advise people to avoid the nose when rinsing or sniffing the sinuses, and to use only distilled, sterile, or previously boiled and cooled water for nasal irrigation. It is also recommended to keep the head submerged out of the water or wear nose plugs when participating in water sports in warm freshwater.
Story summarized from the original created by Dorothy Sedovic on www.foxcarolina.com, see more information here.
