Federal health officials confirmed today that a Nebraska child died from a rare infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba after swimming in a river near Omaha.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the presence of the amoeba in the child, according to the Douglas County Department of Health in Omaha.
Health officials believe the child became infected while swimming Sunday in the Elkhorn River, a few miles west of Omaha. Authorities have not released the child's name.
People are usually infected when water containing the amoeba enters the body through the nose while swimming in or diving into lakes and rivers. Other sources have been documented, including tainted tap water in a Houston-area city in 2020.
It is the second death in the Midwest this summer from primary amebic meningoencephalitis, an infection caused by the amoeba that has proved fatal in 97% of reported cases.