Water-feature linked to NC teen’s death from brain-eating amoeba
Officials say 17-year-old Moises Ponce Mendoza likely contracted Naegleria fowleri, the brain‑eating amoeba, from a water feature at a Durham County community center. The feature tested positive and was closed; primary amebic meningoencephalitis is rare but usually fatal. Health guidance emphasizes avoiding nasal exposure to warm freshwater and using distilled water for nasal rinses. Mendoza died Aug. 31 after being hospitalized on Aug. 22.