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A California boy who contracted a brain-eating amoeba likely while swimming in a lake has died, reports Fox News.
7-year-old David Pruitt had been flown out to UC Davis Medical Center on July 30. Just a week later the boy died.
According to his aunt Crystal Hayley, he was diagnosed with primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) which is a rare infection of the brain.
The Associated Press first reported on the incident earlier this month saying that health officials in Tehama County told them a child under 10 was likely infected in a Tehama County lake.
There have only been 10 cases of PAM reported in California since 1971, according to the Tehama County Health Services Agency.
While David's parents declined an interview request from the AP, Hayley shared "they want people to be aware of this amoeba and the illness signs.”
The parasite, Naegleria fowleri, typically infects people when contaminated water enters the body through the nose.
In the beginning stages of infection, patients report severe headaches, fever, nausea, and vomiting.