{"id":7813,"date":"2026-09-01T07:06:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T07:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7813"},"modified":"2026-09-01T07:06:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T07:06:24","slug":"north-carolina-teen-dies-from-rare-brain-eating-amoeba-typically-linked-to-freshwater-swimming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7813","title":{"rendered":"North Carolina teen dies from rare brain-eating amoeba typically linked to freshwater swimming"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A North Carolina teenager died after contracting a rare brain-eating amoeba found in lakes, rivers and other freshwater sources, according to authorities and reports.<\/p>\n

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The boy, identified by family as Moises Ponce Mendoza, died on Monday after developing the uncommon illness caused by Naegleria fowleri, the Guardian reported. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe extend our condolences to the family, friends and community impacted by this loss,\u201d the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement obtained by the outlet. <\/p>\n

The state\u2019s health department said in a press release on Thursday that Mendoza was \u201ccritically ill and receiving medical care\u201d after contracting Naegleria fowleri, which is commonly found in warm freshwater.<\/p>\n

If the single-celled organism enters the nose and reaches the brain, it can cause an infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis \u2014 which typically leads to coma and death within five days.<\/p>\n

The organism is dubbed the \u201cbrain-eating amoeba\u201d because it can infect the brain and destroy tissue, the agency said. Infections typically occur after swimming in lakes, rivers, or other freshwater bodies during the summer months when water levels are low and temperatures are high.<\/p>\n

Symptoms typically start with severe headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting, and progress to stiff neck, seizures and coma.<\/p>\n

Mendoza\u2019s mother, Monica Mendoza, wrote in a GoFundMe fundraiser in Spanish last week that her son was a \u201cyoung man full of life currently fighting for his life in the hospital \u2014 in a coma.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt all started with severe headaches. I never imagined that something like this could be so serious,\u201d the heartbroken mother wrote in a translated fundraiser statement. <\/p>\n

Monica added that she brought her son, whose age has not been released, to a hospital in Burlington, but was informed he could return home. <\/p>\n

Mendoza\u2019s condition worsened rapidly, and he had to be rushed to the University of North Carolina hospital\u2019s emergency room on Saturday morning, where doctors finally discovered the sick teen had contracted an infection from the extremely rare brain-eating amoeba. <\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cFrom that moment on, our lives changed completely. Moises is in a coma; the doctors are doing everything possible to fight this illness and give him a chance to pull through,\u201d the mother wrote in the fundraiser for medical expenses. <\/p>\n

The NCDHHS did not immediately respond to The Post\u2019s request for additional comment.<\/p>\n

The department previously said that the source of the case is under investigation. Typically, less than 10 people a year in the United States get primary amebic meningoencephalitis<\/p>\n

Mendoza\u2019s tragic death comes just over a week after Lillian Smart, 8, died from an infection linked to the brain-eating amoeba after swimming in a northern Louisiana lake.<\/p>\n

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Moises Ponce Mendoza, a North Carolina teen, has died after contracting Naegleria fowleri, a rare and deadly brain-eating amoeba.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"yoast_head":"\nNorth Carolina teen dies from rare brain-eating amoeba typically linked to freshwater swimming - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7813\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"North Carolina teen dies from rare brain-eating amoeba typically linked to freshwater swimming - 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