Amoeba deaths spotlight "brain-eating" microbes

(CBS/AP) Amoebas are being blamed for the brain infections that killed two children recently.

A nine-year-old identified as Christian Alexander Strickland from Henrico County, Virgina, died from meningoencephalitis after being infected with the microscopic bugs, which flourish in stagnant lakes and ponds during hot weather.

The boy died August 5, making him the first to die of the infection since 1969, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. His mother, Amber Strickland, said her son had attended a fishing day camp at several locations the week before he died.

"He went from playing video games to being brain dead," she said.

A similar death occurred last weekend in central Florida involving a 16-year-old girl.

How do the amoebas get into the brain? Dr. Michael Edmond, epidemiologist for VCU Medical Center in Richmond, Va., and chief of infectious diseases, said they swim up the nose, through the sinuses and into the space around the brain.

Symptoms include headaches, vomiting, and neck stiffness, according to the website of the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.

Antibiotics can help end the infection if given promptly, but the website cautions against swimming in stagnant water, especially water that doesn't feel cool upon entering. In addition, it's best to avoid underwater swimming except in swimming pools and to hold your nose or use nose plugs when diving into water except swimming pools.

Amoebic meningoencephalitis is rare, with fewer than 100 cases reported in the U.S. since 1975, according to the website. But it's often fatal.

Jeremy Lewis, a Texan whose seven-year-old son, Kyle, died last year after contracting amoebic meningoencephalitis after swimming in a pond, said he wanted to make people aware of the dangers posed by still water, particularly in warm weather. He and his wife, Julie, formed the Kyle Lewis Amoeba Awareness Foundation to raise public knowledge about the parasite.