New Details Emerge On NJ Man Who Died Of Brain-Eating Amoeba

Authorities have discovered where a New Jersey man who died after he was diagnosed with a brain-eating amoeba may have contracted the disease. The amoeba was discovered soon after he had been swimming at an amusement park wave pool.

Fabrizio Stabile, 29, of Ventnor died last month after he was diagnosed with the brain-eating amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, a rare infection that has been diagnosed 143 times in the United States in the last 55 years, according to a GoFundMe page page set up for him. The amoeba is usually found in freshwater.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Texas authorities found evidence of the amoeba at the BSR Cable Park in Waco, where Stabile had been prior to his diagnosis. Stabile had been in the wave pool.

The CDC and the Texas Department of State Health Services found evidence of Naegleria fowleri in the park but not specifically in the Surf Resort, Lazy River or the Royal Flush on the day of sampling. The presence of "fecal indicator" organisms, high turbidity, low free chlorine levels and other amoeba that occur along with Naegleria fowleri, however, indicate conditions favorable for amoeba growth.

The BSR water venues known as the Surf Resort, Lazy River, and the Royal Flush have been shut down and will not reopen until all health and safety issues have been addressed and mitigated appropriately, according to Texas health officials.

The Cable Park may remain open to the general public "because the risk of exposure to Naegleria fowleri is considered the same as any other natural bodies of freshwater and is not amenable to treatment," according to Texas health officials.

Stabile had been at a wave pool BSR Cable Park in Waco prior to suffering from a headache while mowing his lawn on Sept. 16. That day, he went to lie down, according to his GoFundMe page. Several days later, Sept. 21, he was pronounced dead at Atlantic City Medical Center.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is testing BSR Cable Park's Surf Resort, which has closed down since the man's diagnosis, to see if there is any connection to Stabile's illness.

Originally, friends and family weren't immediately sure what Stabile was suffering from. After taking medicine for the headache on Sept. 16, Stabile ended up sleeping through the night, according to the GoFundMe page. But when he awoke the next morning, the headache had not gone away.

"He asked his mother for more medicine and went back to sleep," the GoFundMe page said. "When his mother went to check on him in the early afternoon, Fabrizio could not get out of bed and could not speak coherently. His mother called 911 and EMTs rushed him to the hospital."

At first, Stabile's symptoms – brain swelling and fever – appeared consistent with bacterial meningitis, and he was quickly sedated and treated with medication and an aggressive neurological protocol, according to the GoFundMe page.

"Unfortunately, Fabrizio was not responding to these measures and his condition was rapidly deteriorating," according to the GoFundMe page. "He had been tested for a multitude of illnesses caused by various bacteria and viruses, but the results were coming back negative or inconclusive."

Then, on Sept. 20, one of the test results came back positive. As family and friends huddled in the ICU waiting room, they learned that Stabile tested positive for the amoeba.

Stabile died on Sept. 21 at the Atlantic City Medical Center while surrounded by friends and family, according to his obituary from Lowenstein-Saraceno Funeral Home.

Read more: NJ Man Dies Of Brain-Eating Amoeba After Swimming In Wave Pool

Here are some of the tributes that have been paid to him:

Photo courtesy of GoFundMe, a promotional partner of Patch