BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A 16-year-old Mims girl hospitalized after an amoeba infected her brain when she went swimming in the St. Johns River in North Brevard County has died, a family member told WKMG-TV.
Courtney Nash died Saturday, 10 days after swimming in a river at a park near the border of Brevard and Volusia counties.
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Family members said Courtney started feeling ill Monday with intense headaches. The next day she became confused and lethargic, so her family said they took her to a local hospital. On Thursday, they said they took her to Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital in Orlando, where she had surgery to relieve the pressure from the swelling in her brain.
"I was really shocked (to hear the news). It had been a long time since I heard about that happening, and it got me really worried and upset," Dorraine Weller, a mother in Mims, said Friday.
Others in the community showed support for the teen with signs asking others to pray for Courtney. Just three days into the new school year, classmates at Astronaut High School spent time Friday making a banner for Courtney.
A prayer vigil for friends, family and other supporters was held for Courtney on Friday night at Holder Park in Mims.
Nash's family said Courtney loved the outdoors and spent most of her time on horseback, fishing and swimming.
Amoebas are organisms that are potentially deadly. They travel up humans' noses to the brain and spinal cord, causing swelling. Warning signs of amoebic infections include headaches, fever, vomiting and a stiff neck but can lead to a loss of balance, seizures, hallucinations and death.
The Brevard County Health Department said the greatest risk comes when fresh water temperatures, such as lakes, ponds and rivers, reach 80 degrees or warmer. Officials said swimmers should keep their heads out of the water when swimming in warm lakes or rivers.
In the summer of 2007, three central Florida boys died after becoming infected from amoebas. Their deaths prompted Orange County to post signs warning swimmers of amoebas.