FL Teen Battling Brain-Eating Amoeba After Trip To Port Charlotte Beach

PORT CHARLOTTE, FL — A Florida teenager was hospitalized with a rare, brain-eating amoeba after a July 1 trip to Port Charlotte Beach, according to a GoFundMe fundraiser for Caleb Ziegelbauer’s family.

The 13-year-old started complaining about a headache about five days after swimming in the brackish water there. A day later he had a fever and by July 9, he was disoriented, the fundraiser reads.

Caleb’s parents brought him to Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida in Fort Myers, where he was diagnosed with meningitis and placed in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Doctors believe the amoeba Naegleria fowleri is responsible for his illness, according to the GoFundMe page.

The single-celled organism lives in soil and warm fresh water, like lakes, rivers and hot springs, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. It’s often referred to as a “brain-eating amoeba” because it can cause a brain infection when water containing the amoeba goes up the nose.

Only three people each year are infected with Naegleria fowleri and most people die from it, according to the CDC.

Caleb’s treatment for the amoeba started July 10, requiring a brief sedation and intubation. He has been breathing on his own for about a full week.

“His MRI scan from 7/20 continues to show damage in his brain but we remain hopeful that he'll turn the corner soon and make his way back to us,” the GoFundMe reads.

Those who created the fundraiser, Katie Chiet and Beth Ziegelbauer, also warned others about how to avoid this parasite.

“Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM) is preventable,” they wrote. “Wear nose plugs anytime you are swimming in water that isn't properly chlorinated.”

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