WASHINGTON — A woman who went swimming while on summer vacation in Maryland was later killed by a brain-eating amoeba, her family said.
But health officials say the chances of that happening to anyone else are extremely low.
A Go Fund Me page set up on behalf of her family says 19-year-old Kerry Stoutenburgh of Kingston, New York, died Aug. 31 after going swimming in fresh water in Cecil County, Maryland.
Dr. Henry Taylor with the Cecil County Health Department says the amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, is common in warm, fresh waters, but it’s highly unlikely to make you sick.
“It’s very rare that it causes lethal illness, but when it does, it goes into a meningitis,” he told WTOP.
If you’re still concerned, Taylor says there are precautions swimmers can take.
“Whenever you’re swimming in water outdoors that is not chlorinated, you want to prevent water from getting up your nose,” he said.
“Wearing nose clips or blowing out any water that gets in your nose or blowing out through your nose when you jump in to the water — that really sounds simple, but it’s the most effective way that we know of to prevent this.”
The amoeba can enter the body through the nasal passages.
