14-year-old boy hospitalized in Houston after contact with amoeba gives him deadly disease
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A 14-year-old boy is in critical condition in a hospital after coming into contact with a rare amoeba while swimming in a lake north of Houston.
Relatives say Michael Riley Jr. developed a headache and fever, and later became disoriented, after swimming with friends Aug. 13.
In online postings, Michael's family says he has Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis (men-ingo-in-SEPHALITE-us). The disease usually occurs when the Naegleria fowleri (nuh-GLEE'-ree-uh FAHL'-yoo-rye) amoeba enters the body through the nose and attacks cells in the brain. The infection causes the brain to swell.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says from 2005 to 2014 the amoeba infected 35 people in the U.S. All but two cases were fatal. A swimmer died of the disease in Oklahoma earlier this month.