13-Year-Old Battles Deadly Brain-Eating Amoeba After Family Beach Trip

Port Charlotte, Florida, -- A 13-year-old boy from Florida has been hospitalized after being infected with a deadly brain-eating amoeba following a beach trip with his family.

Caleb Ziegelbauer was hospitalized in Ft. Myers with a life-threatening infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, that he contracted after swimming at Port Charlotte Beach on July 1.

Five days after the trip, Ziegelbauer started to complain about a headache, which was followed by disorientation and fever. Upon examination, the doctors diagnosed him with meningitis caused by the brain-eating amoeba and placed him in PICU, NY Post reported.

The infection, primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), is a disease of the central nervous system caused by Naegleria fowleri, a free-living amoeba. People can contract the life-threatening infection when water containing the amoeba enters the nose and migrates to the brain along the olfactory nerve.

Although a rare infection, only four people in the U.S. out of 154 infected with the amoeba have survived from 1962 to 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"He [Ziegelbauer] started to receive the CDC protocol to treat the amoeba on July 10," Katie Chiet, the boy's aunt, wrote on the GoFundMe page set up for his treatment.

"He required a brief period of sedation and intubation but has been breathing on his own for almost a full week now! 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!" she added.

Meanwhile, another aunt, Elizabeth Ziegelbauer said Ziegelbauer is a strong fighter. "He’s just the kindest soul but he’s so strong. He’s so strong. Like the fighting on the outside, that’s what we’re doing. He is fighting his little heart out on the inside," she said, as reported by ABC 7.

Earlier this month, a popular public beach on Iowa lake was closed for visitors after a resident from Missouri got infected with the Naegleria fowleri amoeba after swimming on the beach. The officials said the beach was closed as a "temporary precaution" to prevent the disease and are investigating to find the exact source of the infection.