A 12 year-old in Arkansas has been infected by a brain-eating amoeba, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Kali Hardig is in the Arkansas Children’s Hospital battling an amoeba called amoebic meningo-encephalitis, which enters the body through the nose and is usually found in people who have been swimming in freshwater, according to the agency and WMCTV. A water park near Little Rock was closed after the case started. Willow Springs was the site of another case in 2010.
Hardig is still in danger but is recovering and under close observation. Her case should serve as a warning, said Dr. Dirk Haselow, of the state’s Department of Health.
“This infection is one of the most severe infections that we know of. Ninety-nine percent of people who get it, die,” he said.
The best way to avoid it is to not swim in water is over 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Symptoms include what appears to be a fever and possibly a stiff neck and light sensitivity.
The extremely rare parasite happens to about one in 33 million people.
The owners of Willow Springs said they have closed the park indefinitely.
“Though the odds of contracting Naegleria are extremely low, they are just not good enough to allow our friends or family to swim,” the Ratliffs said in a statement released by the Department of Health. “For the thousands of people who love Willow Springs, we will be taking this time to determine the feasibility of installing a solid bottom to the lake. We will not ever reopen as a sand bottom lake.”
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