Alexandria teen dies from infection after swimming in lake | Wadena PJ

A boy who developed symptoms of a brain infection after swimming in a Pope County lake has been identified by family members as 14-year-old Hunter Boutain of Alexandria.

“As of this afternoon (7/8/15) Hunter is still in the hospital and remains in critical condition”, Bryan Boutain, Hunter’s uncle, said. Hunter died surrounded by his family.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is investigating a suspected case of a rare and potentially deadly infection in a Minnesota child after the child went swimming in a Pope County lake.

The latest Naegleria infection marks the first reported case in Minnesota since a nine-year-old boy died from the illness after taking a swim in Stillwater’s Lily Lake back in 2012.

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 amoeba lives in warm fresh water.

“Now the amoeba is plastered up in the mucus membranes of the nose and eats its way into structures of the nose and gets into the brain”, said Schaffner, in a statement.

The United States has only seen round 35 confirmed cases of the amoeba infecting human beings within the last decade, though the resulting brain infection often proved fatal.

Symptoms include headaches, fever, nausea, vomiting, stiff necks, confusion, hallucinations, loss of balance, and seizures.

“Try to avoid getting water up the nose”, she said.

The infection had not been detected in regions north of Missouri prior to the case in Minnesota in 2010.

While the occurrence of the amoeba is common, infections fortunately are rare.

Trisha Robinson, supervisor of the Waterborne Diseases Unit, says that even though there is a low risk of contracting infection from Naegleria in freshwater, it is still advisable to avoid freshwater-related activities.