Child develops symptoms of infection after swimming in Minnesota lake

According to ABC News affiliate KSTP-TV, the child went swimming in Lake Minnewaska and then later developed symptoms of the infection primary amebic meningeoncephalitis (PAM).

Wednesday afternoon, Bryan Boutain, Hunter’s uncle, issued this statement: “As of this afternoon, Hunter is still in the hospital and remains in critical condition”.

A severe brain infection is caused by the amoeba, which proves fatal for the sufferer.

There were only two other cases of Naegleria fowleri in Minnesota in recent years, one in 2010 and another in 2012, according to the Health Department. This is a hard time for our family.

Naegleria fowleri propagates in warm, stagnant bodies of freshwater (typically during the summer months), and enters the central nervous system after insufflation of infected water by attaching itself to the olfactory nerve. The child whose age has not been disclosed by health officials has developed the rare form of meningitis caused by an amoeba known as Naegleria fowlers. Thirty-five cases were reported in the US from 2005 through 2014, including single cases in Minnesota in 2010 and 2012. Both of them became infected while swimming at Lily Lake near Stillwater.

Details about the child’s condition are not available.

The health department said people who swim in fresh water can reduce their risk of infection by keeping their heads out of the water, or holding their noses shut or using nose clips. It has not been reopened.

It hasn’t been reported where in Lake Minnewaska he was swimming, but public beaches in the cities of Glenwood and Starbuck were closed briefly Tuesday night while officials gathered more information.