Tragic Death of Nevada Toddler Due to Brain-Eating Amoeba

A two-year-old boy named Woodrow Bundy from Lincoln County, Nevada, has died from a Naegleria fowleri infection, commonly known as a brain-eating amoeba. The Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health (DPBH) believes the child may have been exposed to the amoeba at Ash Springs, a natural hot spring in Lincoln County. Naegleria fowleri is a microscopic amoeba that occurs naturally in warm fresh water and soil. It enters the body through the nose and travels to the brain, causing a rare and almost always fatal infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). The CDC has confirmed Naegleria fowleri as the cause of the child's illness. Precautions recommended by the CDC include avoiding diving into warm fresh water, using nose clips, and avoiding stirring up sediment in shallow water.