Georgia teen dies from rare brain-eating amoeba after swimming in freshwater lake

Megan Ebenroth was seventeen years old, a straight-A student, vice president of her Spanish club, and a tennis player with plans to attend the University of Georgia. On July 22, she died from an infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, a microscopic parasite commonly called the brain-eating amoeba. She had contracted it while swimming in a freshwater lake.

The amoeba lives in warm freshwater environments—lakes, hot springs, and similar bodies of water. It is not something that enters the body through swallowing or skin contact. Instead, it travels through the nose, penetrates the sinuses, and follows nerve pathways into the brain. Once there, it causes a severe infection that is nearly always fatal. The infection is also rare. In Georgia, where Megan lived, there have been only six confirmed cases since 1962. Megan's death was the most recent.

Her mother, Christina Ebenroth, spoke about the medical response. She wanted people to know that the doctors at Children's Hospital had not given up. They performed a spinal tap to try to diagnose what was happening. They fought aggressively to save her daughter's life. But the nature of the infection works against survival. Doctors typically do not catch it until the disease has progressed significantly, when symptoms have become severe. By that point, treatment is usually ineffective.

The early warning signs appear roughly five days after infection: sudden fever, headache, and a stiff neck. These symptoms can resemble other, more common illnesses, which may delay diagnosis further. By the time the amoeba is identified, it has often already caused irreversible damage to the brain.

Dr. Wassim Ballan, an infectious disease specialist at Phoenix Children's Hospital, raised a concern that extends beyond Megan's case. He pointed to climate change as a factor that could alter the landscape of infectious diseases. As water temperatures rise and conditions warm, the environments where organisms like Naegleria fowleri thrive may expand. "We are probably going to see a change in trends because of the climate changing and the temperatures rising," Ballan said. "There is a lot of concern in the infectious disease community about a lot of different infections, including amoebic infections becoming more common as the climate is warming."

For families who spend time in freshwater lakes and similar environments, prevention is the only reliable protection. Doctors recommend not jumping or diving into the water. Instead, swimmers should hold their nose, wear nose clips, or keep their head above the water entirely. These simple measures can prevent the amoeba from entering through the nasal passages.

Megan's family described her as adventurous and deeply loved everywhere she went. She had her whole life ahead of her. The infection that took her is rare enough that most people will never encounter it, but it is common enough that it has claimed six lives in a single state over six decades. As water temperatures continue to shift, infectious disease experts worry that cases like hers may become less exceptional.