IT STRIKES AGAIN: Lake-Living Amoeba Suspected In Child’s Death « CBS Minnesota

REPORT: The Health Department is investigating after a suspected amebic infection killed a 9-year-old boy who had gone swimming in warm Washington County lakes.

Authorities said Tuesday that the suspected amoeba is Naegleria fowleri, which is commonly found in warm freshwater. The amoeba can cause a “severe brain infection and is nearly always fatal,” the department said.

Health officials said the boy went swimming at multiple locations in Washington County two weeks before the onset of illness. One of the lakes was Lily Lake in Stillwater – the suspected source of a previous infection that killed a 7-year-old girl in August of 2010.

Lily Lake is now closed for swimming, the department said.

READ REPORT HERE