A 12-year-old boy stricken with a rare but deadly brain-eating parasite has died in Florida, his family said today.
Zachary Reyna died yesterday, according to a post on a Facebook page that has been providing detailed updates from the boy's family.
"The battle is over for Zac but he won the war," the post said.
Another message said that a ventilator was being used so that the boy's organs could be donated.
"Even though Zac has passed, he will still be saving many lives," the new post said.
Doctors had given Zachary an experimental drug to treat the rare amoeba, called Naegleria fowleri, that he had. The same drug was used to treat 12-year-old Kali Hardig recently in Arkansas, after which she became only the third person in the last 50 years known to survive the deadly parasite.
Zachary's family told CNN affiliate WBBH they believe that the boy -- who they described as an active seventh-grader -- was infected while kneeboarding with friends in a water- filled ditch by his house on August 3.
After news emerged regarding Zachary's diagnosis, the Florida Department of Health issued a warning to swimmers that high water temperatures and low water levels provide the perfect breeding ground for this rare amoeba.
Between 2001 and 2010, there were only 32 reported cases of people getting Naegleria fowleri in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Naegleria fowleri is found in hot springs and warm freshwater, most often in the Southeastern United States. The amoeba enters the body through the nose and travels to the brain. There is no danger of infection from drinking contaminated water, the CDC said.
"This infection is one of the most severe infections that we know of," Dr. Dirk Haselow of the Arkansas Department of Health said about Kali's case. "Ninety-nine per cent of people who get it die."
The first symptoms of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis appear one to seven days after infection, including headache, fever, nausea, vomiting and a stiff neck, according to the CDC.
"Later symptoms include confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance, seizures and hallucinations," the agency website said, adding that the disease progresses rapidly and usually causes death within one to 12 days.
