After contracting a rare brain-eating amoeba after a day-trip with his family to a Florida beach, a 14-year-old boy is lucky to have survived the infection that has a 97 percent fatality rate.
More than a year later, Caleb Ziegelbauer, of Port Charlotte, Florida, is still recovering from the life-threatening illness. On July 1, 2022, Ziegelbauer and his family went swimming at Port Charlotte Beach, in brackish water. Just eight days later, he was rushed to Golisano Children’s Hospital. After battling the amoeba in the hospital for more than eight months, Caleb and his mom, Jesse Ziegelbauer, want to warn other families of the potential danger.
While tests came back as inconclusive, doctors believe that Caleb, then 13, was infected by Naegleria fowleri, which infects people by traveling through the nose to the brain, where it destroys the tissue and causes deadly primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). PAM is almost always fatal, the CDC notes.
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Newsweek has reached out via email to the CDC for comment.
While speaking in an exclusive interview with local outlet NBC2, Jesse recalled the moment Caleb’s doctors said he had just days to live.
“The neurologist came in and told us four days, you have four days with your son,” Jesse said.
Today, Caleb is still continuing his recovery. He finished intensive rehab in March, and can now stand, laugh and somewhat speak.
“He went five months without any talking,” his mom said. “His face didn’t move for a very long time so as it woke up, he would talk with those eyebrows.”
His yearlong battle included spending periods sedated, intubated and even placed in an induced state of hypothermia to help his brain heal. During the interview, the Ziegelbauers said they’re sharing Caleb’s story to help prevent others from falling victim to brain-eating amoeba.
His family bought a box of nose plugs to hand out at the annual July 4 Freedom Swim across Charlotte Harbor on Tuesday. Caleb told NBC2 that he is adamant about sharing the warning of the simple step required to help stop infections.
“Stop, plug, then play. A 25-cent piece of plastic can save your life,” the Ziegelbauers said.
Caleb said his challenge has shaped plans for his future, saying that he wants to become an epidemiologist.
“I was going to find the cure for COVID but now I am going to find the vaccine for Naegleria fowleri,” Caleb said with a smile.
While Naegleria fowleri infections are rare in the United States, they are over 97 percent fatal. From 1962 to 2022, there were 157 infections recorded in the U.S., with only four survivors, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agency cautions that the amoeba thrives in warm, fresh water, adding that almost half of all infections occur in Texas and Florida. While reasons are unclear, the CDC states that males, especially those ages 14 and younger, are most likely to contract the amoeba.
Symptoms can include fever, nausea, headaches and feeling disoriented before progressing to seizures, hallucinations and unconsciousness, according to the CDC.