Florida Teen Dies from Brain-Eating Amoeba

Sept. 11, 2020 — The parents of a 13-year-old boy in Florida who died from brain-eating amoeba want to warn others about the risk of the waterborne infection.

Tanner Lake Wall, 13, became ill after a family vacation last month at a North Florida campground that has a lake and water park. He was hospitalized and put on a ventilator, but taken off life support on Aug. 2 after he showed no brain activity, CBS News reported.

The teen’s parents hope their tragedy alerts other families to the dangers of this amoeba, called Naegleria fowleri.

“So parents are aware, maybe they weren’t thinking about it because I can sure tell you we weren’t,” the teen’s father, Travis Wall said, CBS News reported. “We grew up swimming in ponds and creeks and stuff like that.”

Typically found in warm fresh water, such as lakes, rivers and springs, Naegleria fowleri can get into the brain when contaminated water enters the nose, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.