zachary reyna
Child dies from brain eating parasite
01:43 - Source: WBBH

Story highlights

NEW: Zachary Reyna's organs have been donated, Facebook page says

The boy fell ill after playing in a water-filled ditch near his Florida home

Doctors later determined he had a rare brain-eating amoeba

They tried an experimental drug also used for an Arkansas girl, who survived

CNN  — 

Zachary Reyna, a 12-year-old Florida boy stricken with a brain-eating parasite, has died, according to a post Saturday on a Facebook page that’s been providing detailed updates from the boy’s family.

The post indicated that the LaBelle child died Saturday afternoon.

Funeral arrangements for Zachary have not yet been made, the post said.

A previous post indicated that Zachary had passed away on Saturday but was being kept on a ventilator so the boy’s organs could be donated, and that family and friends could visit him one last time at Miami Children’s Hospital.

Doctors had given Zachary an experimental drug to treat the rare amoeba, called Naegleria fowleri, that he had. This same drug was used to treat 12-year-old Kali Hardig recently in Arkansas, after which she became only the third person in the last 50 years known to survive the deadly parasite.

Zachary’s family told CNN affiliate WBBH they believe that the boy – who they described as an active seventh-grader – was infected while kneeboarding with friends in a water-filled ditch by his house on August 3.

After he was hospitalized, the boy underwent brain surgery, and doctors diagnosed him with primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, according to WBBH.

On August 21, the family noted on the Facebook page that antibiotics had defeated Zachary’s infection; tests showed no activity from the amoeba in his body. But, the post said, extensive damage had already been done to the 12-year-old’s brain.

After news emerged regarding Zachary’s diagnosis, the Florida Department of Health issued a warning to swimmers that high water temperatures and low water levels provide the perfect breeding ground for this rare amoeba.

Between 2001 and 2010, there were only 32 reported cases of people getting Naegleria fowleri in the United States, according to the CDC. Most of the cases have been in the Southeast.

Girl battling brain-eating amoeba moves out of ICU

Naegleria fowleri is found in hot springs and warm freshwater, most often in the Southeastern United States. The amoeba enters the body through the nose and travels to the brain. There is no danger of infection from drinking contaminated water, the CDC said.

“This infection is one of the most severe infections that we know of,” Dr. Dirk Haselow of the Arkansas Department of Health told CNN affiliate WMC about Kali’s case. “Ninety-nine percent of people who get it die.”

The first symptoms of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis appear one to seven days after infection, including headache, fever, nausea, vomiting and a stiff neck, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Later symptoms include confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance, seizures and hallucinations,” the agency website says. “After the start of symptoms, the disease progresses rapidly and usually causes death within one to 12 days.”

Florida issues warning about rare, brain-eating amoeba