The family of a 12-year-old middle school student who died July 18 after exposure to a rare amoeba in a South Carolina lake has released his name to the public.
Jaysen Carr, a student at Columbia's Hand Middle School, died after contracting the rare but almost always fatal Naegleria fowleri while swimming in Lake Murray.
"Jaysen was a bright and beloved student at Hand Middle School. His loss is unimaginable, and our hearts are with his family as they grieve their son and search for answers," the family's attorney, Tyler Bailey, said in a Facebook post on July 24.
"The Carr family is incredibly grateful for the outpouring of love from the community and for the dedicated care provided by the doctors and nurses at Prisma Health Children’s Hospital in the Midlands," he added.
The family retained Bailey to conduct an independent investigation into Jaysen's death.
"As their legal team, we stand beside this family not only to seek the truth, but to help ensure no other family endures a loss like this," Bailey said.
Funeral services for Jaysen will be held Saturday at Columbia's Shandon United Methodist Church.
It is South Carolina's first case of Naegleria fowleri since 2016.
The state Department of Public Health said it was notified of the case the week of July 7.
Naegleria fowleri is a free-living amoeba that lives in warm freshwater, such as lakes, rivers, ponds and hot springs, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC said the amoeba is often called the "brain-eating amoeba" because it can cause an infection — called primary amebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM — if water with the amoeba goes through the nose to the brain that can destroy brain tissue.
Fewer than 10 people a year in the United States get PAM.
Nationwide,167 cases in the past 62 years have been reported.
Only four people have survived, according to the CDC.
Dr. Anna Kathryn Burch, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Prisma Health Children's Hospital in the Midlands, said early this week that the amoeba cannot live in salt water or brackish water.
"We shouldn't be afraid to be in lakes and rivers, and those kinds of things. Again, it's a big part of what South Carolinians do," Burch said. "I just think that you need to be safe when you go into those bodies of water. If that means that, you know, your kids are a little bit young and you might not be able to have those conversations with them, then maybe the nose plugs might be the best way to go."
The public health department said there is no increased risk to the public.
Naegleria fowleri cannot be transferred from person to person, and one infection does not increase the chances that another infection will occur in the same body of water, the department said.
The amoeba is most active in warm weather months — July, August and September — when temperatures sit above 77 degrees.
To reduce the risk of getting infected, the public health department said people should keep their nose shut or use nose clips while swimming in warm freshwater. It's also recommended that swimmers keep their head above water, and avoid jumping or diving into the fresh water.
