(PCM) You may have seen several stories popping up around the web warning people about the dangers of swimming in fresh water lakes and ponds, as there are potentially lethal amoebas lurking under the surface.
The reports began circulating after a 9-year old girl by the name of Hally Yurst passed away on July 9th after a waterborne, brain-eating amoeba caused her death.
As terrifying as it sound sounds, Yurst’s family has come forward and spoken out about their daughter’s death claiming the she was one in a billion. In a news conference Shon Yurst claims “You are more likely to die from drowning than you are from ever dying from this organism. It’s like a one in a billion.”
He goes on to say that his family is very active in the water and will continue to be. Hally Yurst was said to have been in at least four different bodies of fresh water leading up to her death.
The Naegleria fowleri amoeba lives in all fresh bodies of water and was the source of little Hally’s infection. Sources claim that infections for brain-eating amoebas in the U.S. are extremely rare and only one in Kansas has been reported since 2011.
Symptoms of infection generally appear about four to five days after contact and include headache, vomiting, and fever. People then suffer from confusion, seizures and hallucinations.
