Rare brain-eating amoeba kills 9-year-old girl

A 9-year-old girl from Kansas died Wednesday after being exposed to an extremely rare brain eating amoeba.

Hally Yust had spent time doing water sports with family when she contracted the amoeba, Fox 4 News reported.

“The amoeba goes up through the nose and into the brain and once it’s there, there’s really nothing anybody can do,” said Tiffany Geiger, the investigator with the Johnson County Health Department.

Naegleria fowleri is an amoeba that is found in bodies of freshwater.

Headache, neck stiffness and confusion are just a few of the symptoms, reported the New York Daily News.

Yust had been hospitalized with the above symptoms, which are also similar to meningitis.

The exact source where Yust contracted the amoeba is unknown because Yust was in several bodies of water.

In a released statement, the family urged people not to stay away from water despite the death of their daughter.

“We hope you will not live in fear of this rare infection that took our daughter’s life. Our family is very active in water sports, and we will continue to be.”

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