A North Carolina family is mourning the death of a teenager who authorities say became infected with a rare “brain-eating amoeba” linked to warm freshwater environments such as lakes, rivers and ponds.
The teen, identified by relatives as Moises Ponce Mendoza, died Monday after contracting the uncommon but often deadly illness associated with Naegleria fowleri, according to a report from The Guardian.
“We extend our condolences to the family, friends and community impacted by this loss,” the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement shared with the outlet.
Just days earlier, the state health department announced in a Thursday news release that Mendoza was “critically ill and receiving medical care” after exposure to Naegleria fowleri, a microscopic organism most often found in warm freshwater.
Health officials say the single-celled amoeba can cause a devastating infection known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis when contaminated water enters the nose and the organism travels to the brain. The illness can progress rapidly, often leading to coma and death within about five days.
Naegleria fowleri is frequently referred to as the “brain-eating amoeba” because it attacks brain tissue, the agency noted. Cases are most commonly tied to swimming or other water activities in lakes, rivers and similar freshwater areas during hot summer conditions, especially when water levels are low and temperatures rise.
Early warning signs can include an intense headache, fever, nausea and vomiting. As the infection worsens, patients may develop a stiff neck, seizures and eventually fall into a coma.
In a Spanish-language GoFundMe post created last week, Mendoza’s mother, Monica Mendoza, described her son as a “young man full of life” who was “fighting for his life in the hospital — in a coma.”
“It all started with severe headaches. I never imagined that something like this could be so serious,” the heartbroken mother wrote in a translated fundraiser statement.
Monica added that she brought her son, whose age has not been released, to a hospital in Burlington, but was informed he could return home.
Mendoza’s condition worsened rapidly, and he had to be rushed to the University of North Carolina hospital’s emergency room on Saturday morning, where doctors finally discovered the sick teen had contracted an infection from the extremely rare brain-eating amoeba.
“From that moment on, our lives changed completely. Moises is in a coma; the doctors are doing everything possible to fight this illness and give him a chance to pull through,” the mother wrote in the fundraiser for medical expenses.
The NCDHHS did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for additional comment.
The department previously said that the source of the case is under investigation. Typically, less than 10 people a year in the United States get primary amebic meningoencephalitis
Mendoza’s tragic death comes just over a week after Lillian Smart, 8, died from an infection linked to the brain-eating amoeba after swimming in a northern Louisiana lake.
