A North Carolina teenager's death from a rare 'brain-eating amoeba' infection is drawing fresh attention to the early symptoms of a disease that can initially resemble more common illnesses before rapidly becoming life-threatening.
Moises Ponce Mendoza, 17, died on 31 August after contracting Naegleria fowleri, an amoeba that can cause primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a devastating brain infection. North Carolina health officials said a water feature at El Futuro, a community-based organisation in Durham County, was the most likely source of exposure, although investigators could not conclusively establish where Mendoza became infected.
