North Carolina teen dies from rare brain-eating amoeba linked to warm freshwater

A North Carolina teenager has died after contracting Naegleria fowleri, a rare brain-eating amoeba found in warm freshwater. Primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) progresses rapidly and is usually fatal within about five days of symptoms; health officials are investigating possible exposure sources. The US typically sees fewer than 10 PAM cases annually, and a separate case in Louisiana involved an eight-year-old girl who died from the same infection.