(Image Source: Wikimedia)

BY STEVEN HSIEH

Two cases back to back of a tragic disease this week. Officials say the so-called “brain-eating amoeba” is responsible for the deaths of two young people on the East Coast.

Christian Alexander Strickland, a 9-year-old boy from Virginia, caught the disease after attending a fishing camp. And Courtney Nash, a 16-year-old girl from Florida, caught it after swimming in a river. Nash’s mother told CNN about her daughter’s sudden symptoms.

“When we got home, her fever was 102.1 from the hospital.  A couple hours later, her fever went up to 104… Her eyes were rolling, and she wouldn’t shut them all the way.  ”

The infection is almost always fatal. NBC reports the microbe that causes the disease...

“...moves into the body through the nose and destroys brain tissue. It almost always causes meningitis … It is usually found [in] warm, stagnant water in freshwater lakes, ponds and rivers. It can also be found in wells.”

Unlike other forms of meningitis, the amoeba infection isn’t spread from person to person. That means each infection has to come from encountering the microbe in the wild. A doctor tells ABC that’s why there are so few cases.

“This is incredibly rare. Even with millions of people swimming in fresh water, there are only three cases a year in the entire country. So, amoebic infections are the medical equivalent of being struck by lightning. But still, George, it’s so sobering for parents.”    

Health officials warn people not to swim in stagnant water, especially if it’s warm. And KTSP reports -- it’s important to protect your nose.

“Hold your nose, wear nose plugs, or don’t put your head underwater.”