A 10-year-old Texas girl has died after being infected by a brain-eating amoeba from swimming in a river near her home.
Lily Mae Avant, 10, succumbed to the often-fatal amoeba known as Naegleria fowleri early Monday at Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth, news station KCEN-TV reported. Doctors believe Lily contracted the infection while swimming over Labor Day weekend in the Brazos River near Waco.
Lily spent Labor Day weekend with her family swimming in the river, which winds through their backyard. Soon after, she came down with what seemed like a common viral infection, a headache and fever. But over the following days, she began acting strangely, according to her family.
The amoeba found naturally in freshwater can be life-threatening when it enters the body through the nose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.