The family of a boy who died in the hospital after being infected by the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri have identified him as 12-year-old Jaysen Carr.
The Prisma Health Children’s Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina, publicized the July 18 death this week. The victim is believed to have contracted the amoeba while swimming in the city’s Lake Murray.
“Jaysen was a bright and beloved student at Hand Middle School [in Columbia]. His loss is unimaginable, and our hearts are with his family as they grieve their son and search for answers. The Carr family is incredibly grateful for the outpouring of love from the community and for the dedicated care provided by the doctors and nurses at Prisma Health Children’s Hospital in the Midlands,” the Bailey Law Firm, which is representing the Carr family, said on social media.
Jaysen’s funeral will be held at Columbia’s Shandon United Methodist Church on Saturday, according to South Carolina Public Radio.
Jaysen is believed to be the first person in South Carolina infected by Naegleria fowleri and, since 2016, afflicted by the resulting primary amebic meningoencephalitis. The disease has no known cure and kills 95% of those infected, according to South Carolina health officials.
The amoeba infects brains by traveling up the nasal cavity and is found in warm bodies of fresh water across the U.S.
SEE ALSO: Person dies in South Carolina children’s hospital from brain-eating amoeba
Between 1962 and 2024, 167 cases of primary amebic meningoencephalitis were reported across the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only four of those patients survived.
