Teen Dies After Contracting Brain-Eating Amoeba At Rec Center

A teen who died in June appears to have contracted a so-called “brain-eating amoeba” while visiting a whitewater-rafting park in North Carolina.

Lauren Seitz, an 18-year-old from Ohio, “died shortly after returning from a church trip, during which she contracted Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis, known as PAM, which is a severe brain infection caused by an amoeba called Naegleria fowleri,” USA Today reported, citing Mitzi Kline, communications director for Franklin County Public Health.

Previous deaths caused by the amoeba prompted Louisiana regulators to issue new standards for water utilities three years ago. The rules required that water systems maintain higher disinfectant levels and boost water sampling sites, the Associated Press reported.

Meningoencephalitis “is only contracted through natural water sources when water is drawn into the body through the nose. There are several different types of the disease and several different carriers; all affect the brain,” WCMH reported, citing health officials.

The U.S. National Whitewater Center, where Seitz appears to have contracted the amoeba, announced late this month that it had temporarily suspended its whitewater operations “after water samples turned up the amoeba believed to have caused the death of an Ohio teenager,” The Associated Press reported.

Jeffrey Wise, the chief executive of the recreation center, put out a statement on Seitz’s death.

“I was informed by health officials that an individual had passed away... potentially caused by a water-born organism. The individual, Lauren Seitz, had visited the [rec center] earlier in the month and the [center] was therefore identified as a possible source of the organism,” Wise said in a statement.

The park, an outdoor recreation center with running trails and rafting waterways, said water samples found DNA for the amoeba in its water system. The park is working with the Centers for Disease Control and local health officials as it moves forward, according to a statement.

“An important point to highlight is that according to the health officials, the source of this organism has not been identified, and in all likelihood, is not identifiable. However, it is equally important to recognize that the organism is commonly found around the world in open bodies of water and the [rec center] does have several such bodies of water,” Wise, the CEO, said.

Jim Wilson, senior pastor at Church of the Messiah United Methodist Church in Westerville, OH, said of Seitz: “She was an incredible person, so full of life. We will deeply miss her, but we were so blessed by her presence and her gifts that she just shared in a beautiful way. She was a special person.”

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