In August 2013, an 8-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital in San Antonio, Texas after contracting a so-called brain-eating amoeba infection. His case was unusual because he ultimately survived: Brain-eating amoeba infections are nearly always fatal.
The boy's infection was caused by Naegleria fowleri, a single-celled organism that lives in warm freshwater lakes, rivers and hot springs. The protozoan enters the body when water goes up the nose and into the brain, causing a disease called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis.
