Infection from beach claims boy, 8, in S.C.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina boy has died from a rare brain infection caused by an organism that lives in warm freshwater, according to state health officials.

The Sumter County boy, whom the Department of Health and Environmental Control did not identify, died on Tuesday from an amoeba known as Naegleria fowleri.

Deaths caused by the organism, which lives in lakes, rivers and hot springs, are extremely rare. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were only 32 documented cases of this kind of infection between 2001 and 2010.

The rare ailment typically is triggered when people swim or dive in warm freshwater lakes and rivers. In very rare instances, health experts say such infections also may occur when contaminated water from other sources, such as inadequately chlorinated swimming pool water or heated tap water less than 116.6 degrees, enters the nose when people submerge their heads or irrigate their sinuses.

Health officials say the amoeba causes primary amebic meningoencephalitis, a brain infection that leads to the destruction of brain tissue. In its early stages, symptoms may be similar to those of bacterial meningitis and can include headache, fever, nausea, vomiting and stiff neck. Later symptoms include confusion, loss of balance, seizures and hallucinations. After the symptoms begin, the disease progresses rapidly and usually causes death within one to 12 days.

Family friends identified the boy as Blake Driggers, an 8-year-old from Sumter who complained of fever and headaches after a trip to the beach last weekend. Mark Christmas, who sings in the church choir with Blake's father, said initially he and others felt that the boy may have simply gotten too much sun.