CDC confirms Nebraska child died of brain-eating amoeba

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal health officials have confirmed that a Nebraska child died from a rare infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba. The Douglas County Department of Health in Omaha said Friday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the presence of the naegleria fowleri amoeba in the child. Authorities have not released the child's name. Health officials believe the child became infected Sunday while swimming in the Elkhorn River near Omaha. It is the second death in the Midwest this summer from primary amebic meningoencephalitis, an infection caused by the amoeba that is almost always fatal. Health officials say a Missouri resident died of the infection in July after swimming in a southwestern Iowa lake.

Get our free mobile app