A Brooklyn college student has passed away after contracting a rare infection following a swim in Maryland, the Daily Freeman reported.
CUNY Brooklyn College student, Kerry A. Stoutenburgh died from a rare infection caused by an amoeba known as Naegleria fowleri, according to Ulster County health commissioner Dr. Carol Smith.
It is believed that the 19-year-old came in contact with the amoeba during a trip to Maryland last month where she visited the Conowingo Creek and Gilpins Falls. Stoutenburgh’s father, Donald, said the amoeba must have entered his daughter’s system via her sinuses after she jumped off a bridge and into a warm body of water on Aug. 20.
Stoutenburgh was hospitalized on Aug. 27 due to severe vomiting and headaches, and was treated and sent home. Her condition worsened and she was again admitted into the hospital. Medical personnel initially believed she had meningitis, which proved to be an incorrect pre-diagnosis. Kerry passed away on Aug. 31 at HealthAlliance Hospital’s Broadway Campus in Kingston, N.Y.
“It is a catastrophic type of infection,” Smith said. “It really progresses to fatality quite quickly.”
