WACO, Texas ― A 29-year-old surfer from New Jersey has died from what is being referred to as a “brain-eating amoeba."
According to the Associated Press, Fabrizio Stabile had visited BSR Cable Park’s Surf Resort soon before his death.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has since closed down the park and is testing the waters for the amoeba known as Naegleria fowleri (nee-GLEHR’-yah FOW’-lur-eye), the organism that was ruled as the cause of Stabile’s death.
A report published by NJ.com gave more details of the events leading up to his diagnosis and eventual death:
“When Stabile returned to New Jersey ... he reported a sudden severe headache while mowing the lawn.
“It only got worse the next day, and when his mother went to check on him, he could not move or speak coherently, and he was rushed to an area hospital, where he was treated for symptoms of meningitis,” according to NJ.com.
Stabile was tested for numerous diseases and bacteria, but everything kept coming back as negative or inconclusive, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald.
Stabile tested positive for Naegleria fowleri the day before his death.
NJ.com reported that by the time he was diagnosed, it was “too late to administer the drug that has been given to three of the only five survivors in North America.”
The owner of BSR Cable Park, Stuart E. Parsons Jr., said the park will continue to comply with requests related to the investigation of Stabile’s death.
The CDC says Naegleria fowleri is commonly found in warm freshwater and soil. Infections such as the one Stabile had, though rare, happen when the water enters the body through the nose.