Teen dies from brain-eating amoeba just days after Louisiana child's death

A teenager who contracted a brain-eating amoeba in North Carolina has died, just days after the rare infection claimed the life of a child in Louisiana. 

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services confirmed the teen’s death, according to multiple reports. 

North Carolina teen dies from brain-eating amoeba

What we know:

He died Aug. 31, four days after being diagnosed with the infection. His mother, Monica Mendoza, identified the teen as Moises Ponce Mendoza. 

RELATED: Brain-eating amoeba leaves NC teen critically injured

What we don't know:

It’s unclear where the teen contracted the illness or how old he was. 

What they're saying:

"It all started with severe headaches," his mother Monica Mendoza wrote on a GoFundMe page for her son. "I never imagined something like this could be so serious."

Monica said she took her son to a local hospital Friday night, where "a doctor saw him briefly and then told us we could go home."

"The situation quickly worsened," she said. 

Mendoza was taken to University of North Carolina hospital the next morning and placed in a coma while doctors tried to treat the infection. 

Louisiana child dies from brain-eating amoeba

Big picture view:

Mendoza’s death comes just days after Lillian Smart, an 8-year-old girl from Louisiana, died Aug. 22 after being diagnosed with an infection from Naegleria fowleri, according to a spokesperson for her family. It was the state’s first confirmed Naegleria fowleri infection since 2013. 

MORE: Louisiana girl dies after contracting suspected brain-eating amoeba

The infection was likely contracted while swimming in Lake Claiborne in north Louisiana, the Louisiana Department of Health said.

What is Naegleria fowleri? 

The backstory:

Naegleria fowleri is found in warm freshwater lakes, rivers, canals and ponds throughout the U.S. The amoeba becomes dangerous in water that stays over 77 degrees Fahrenheit and for years has been seen almost exclusively in the summer in the southern part of the country. A few recent cases have appeared in Maryland, Indiana and Minnesota, scientists said.

The amoeba can lead to a fatal infection known as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis when water carrying the amoeba travels up the nose and into the brain. Between 1937 and 2025, there have only been approximately 180 confirmed infections in the U.S. Cases are "nearly always fatal." The infection cannot spread from person to person.

"The amoeba is naturally occurring, and there is no routine environmental test for Naegleria fowleri in bodies of water," the Louisiana Department of Health stated.

How to protect yourself

What you can do:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you can take the following steps to protect yourself from the amoeba: 

• Hold your nose or use a nose clip when jumping or diving into freshwater. 
• Don’t dig up sediment in shallow, warm water. 
• Keep your head above water in hot springs. 
• Use distilled or boiled water when rinsing your sinuses or cleaning your nasal passages. 

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