Lauren Seitz, who was visiting from Ohio, contracted rare infection at National Whitewater Center, where amoeba DNA was found in 11 water samples

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A North Carolina waterpark has shut down rafting activities after an Ohio teenager was killed by a brain-eating amoeba.

Lauren Seitz, 18, died last Sunday after she was exposed to the amoeba at the US National Whitewater Center (USNWC), a Charlotte-area center where she went with a church group earlier this month. According to officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Seitz died of a rare brain infection caused by the amoeba naegleria fowleri.

“Initial test results found naegleria fowleri DNA was present in the whitewater system,” the USNWC said in a statement. At a press conference, Mecklenburg County health director Marcus Plescia said most of 11 samples tested by the CDC this week showed preliminary evidence of the amoeba.

“On behalf of the USNWC, I wish to express our sincere condolences and sympathies to Lauren and her family,” chief executive Jeffrey Wise said in a separate statement. “Our focus is always on stressing safety and risk in the most appropriate manner possible.”

State health officials noted that the amoeba is common in warm lakes, rivers and springs in summer, and said in a statement that it does not cause illness if swallowed, but can be fatal if forced up the nose. The one-celled organism does not survive in saltwater and cannot infect a person who drinks contaminated water.

In the event of brain infection, the amoeba causes illness up to nine days after exposure. Symptoms include headache, fever, vomiting, confusion, seizures, loss of balance and hallucination. Death usually follows within five days. The fatality rate, according to the CDC, is more than 97%.

The CDC stresses that infections are extremely rare. In the last 53 years officials recorded only 138 infections in the US, compared with about 10 drowning deaths a day over the last decade. Millions who swim in lakes and rivers every year without infection.

“In other words, there are no outbreaks,” Wise said.

In the last decade, 33 people were infected during recreational activities and three by contaminated tap water forced up the nose – prompting warnings about the use of Neti pots for nasal irrigation. One person was infected by contaminated water on a backyard Slip ‘N Slide.

Deaths in recent years have occurred in Texas and Louisiana – southern states where warmer waters are more habitable for the amoeba – though the amoeba have also been found in the north.

According to the USNWC, Seitz’s “only known underwater exposure was believed to be when riding in a raft with several others that overturned” at the center. State and CDC officials are investigating the death with the center’s cooperation.

The USNWC’s water is sourced by county utilities and two wells on its premises. Wise said the water is disinfected with ultraviolet radiation, filtered and periodically given a dose of chlorine. It has weekly water tests carried out by a third-party lab, he added.

“The levels of UV radiation disinfection utilized every day, continuously, at the center are sufficient to ‘inactivate’ the water-born amoeba in question to an effective level of 99.99%,” the non-profit said in a statement.

But Wise admitted inherent danger.

“Despite every measure we take, there is always a risk of injury or harm based on the very nature of what we do and who we are,” he said. “We are deeply saddened any time harm occurs as a result.”

James Seltz, the victim’s father, sent a statement to an Ohio affiliate of NBC, describing her as a talented musician and writer who cared deeply about nature.

“Our family is completely heartbroken and lost without Lauren,” he said. “It is unacceptable that a person who loved nature so much, and was so passionate about environmental issues should be taken from us in this way.”

The center remains open for activities unrelated to the whitewater rafting.

Health officials said people should hold their nose shut or keep their heads above water when in warm freshwater areas, and should avoid water activities at times of high temperature and low water levels.

The amoeba can also be found in sediment and wet soil, meaning people should avoid digging or disturbing sediment in areas where the organisms are often found.