declined to name the child, but the victim's mother identified him as 9-year-old Christian Alexander Strickland of Henrico County.
The boy died Aug. 5 and Hall received the autopsy results Friday confirming the cause of death as meningoencephalitis-- inflammation of the brain and its lining.
The victim's mother, Amber Strickland, said her son had attended a fishing day camp at several locations the week before he died.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports it's the first case of an amoeba death in Virginia since 1969.
State health officials issued an advisory Saturday
the amoeba proliferates in stagnant freshwater lakes and ponds during hot weather.Medical Center and chief of infectious diseases the amoeba swims up the nose, through the sinuses and into the space around the brain, causing meningoencephalitis in a day to two weeks.
A similar death occurred last weekend in central
who has run the Richmond-based Virginia Fishing Adventures day camp for seven years it's impossible to know where the boy contracted the amoeba and whether it happened on a fishing trip. the Virginia Department of Health asked him not to release the names of the water bodies where the boy and other campers went fishing.he has made some changes in the way the camps operate, including spending more time fishing in the James River rather than in ponds, where amoebas are more likely to multiply. He has also warned campers to hold their noses if they go underwater and to try not to swallow fresh water.
a Texas father whose 7-year-old son, Kyle, died last year after contracting an amoeba while swimming in a pond with his familyhe wants to make people aware of the dangers of swimming in still water, particularly in warm weather. Awareness Foundation to raise money and public knowledgeabout the parasite.
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