North Carolina Water Park Suspends Activities After Teenager's Death Due to Brain-Eating Amoeba
Last week's death of an 18-year-old woman who went whitewater rafting in North Carolina forced the temporary suspension of all whitewater activities of the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte.
Ohio-native Lauren Seitz, 18, visited the water park with members of a church group for some adventure last June 19. However, her raft overturned during the activity, throwing her into the water.
Silent Killer: Brain-Eating Amoeba
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Health experts explained that the cause of the teenager's death was the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri, traces of which were found on the body of water. The infection from this organism is not common but could be deadly if it enters the sinus and makes its way through the brain.
Reports say that Seitz got exposed to the bacteria when she fell on the water while rafting. The Naegleria fowleri symptoms include meningitis and meningoencephalitis, which are both deadly.
White Water Activities Temporarily Suspended
Seitz's death prompted the water park to temporarily stop all white water activities pending a concrete action on the discovery of the fatal amoeba.
"The USNWC, after discussion with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and local health officials, has decided to temporarily suspend all whitewater activities effective immediately," read a statement from the facility.
Mecklenburg County Health department head Dr. Marcus Plescia said he was not anymore surprised with the findings, noting that this type of amoeba is common in lakes and rivers. On the contrary, Plescia said the infection from this organism is rare with only 35 cases in the U.S. in a span of 10 years.
How to Get Rid of the Amoeba?
Plescia explained that it would be an extremely difficult task to completely remove such organism from the water but claimed that they will do their best to lower its concentration.
They will also have to concentrate on the two wells of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities Department, which serve as the source of water for the water park. Plescia, however, claimed that not all the lakes and ponds in their locality will be closed.
In addition, US National Whitewater Center spokesperson Eric Osterhus mentioned that they still have normal operations while they assist investigators to complete their probe on the facility.
