The day after diving, swimming, and having fun in a Florida river, a 16-year old boy, developed a severe headache, vomiting, and a fever of 102^oF (degrees Fahrenheit).

He was taken to the hospital and sent home with pain medication and an antibiotic. The next morning, his fever rose to 104^oF, he became delusional and was rushed back to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a Naegleria fowleri (N. fowleri) infection.  Even the best hospital care was not good enough to stop the ravaging infection and sadly, the boy died two days later.

N. fowleri is an amoeba, a single celled organism that can be found living free, mostly in aquatic environments.  Most species of amoebas are harmless to humans, but N. fowleri is not harmless and can be a deadly pathogen (disease causing organism).  N. fowleri is acquired when contaminated water enters the nose, but not the mouth.  

N. fowleri causes a disease in humans called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). PAM causes swelling in the brain, destroys brain tissue, and is almost always fatal.This rare disease was first discovered in the 1960s, and since has been reported in over 16 countries. In the United States, there have been 138 reported cases since 1962 and only one person has survived the infection.