A nine-year-old girl from Spring Hill, Kansas passed away July 9 from a rare brain infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM.
The infection was caused by a microscopic organism called Naegleria fowleri, referred to as a "brain-eating amoeba." The amoeba entered Hally Yust's nose in a freshwater body and caused PAM, which attacks the brain tissue.
Yust's parents, Jenny and Shon, said that Hally loved water-skiing, and had been in several bodies of water in the Kansas area in the past couple of weeks. The CDC reports that the brain-eating amoeba is "commonly found in warm freshwater (e.g. lakes, rivers, and hot springs) and soil," and can only reach the brain if it travels up the nose. Swallowing contaminated water will not cause PAM.
Despite their tragic loss, Hally's parents say the death is evidence of how special Hally was to God.
"It must have been a little boring in heaven the last few weeks, so God looked around the Earth and he found the most interesting, dynamic, fantastic person he could and he said, 'Hally, you've gotta come be with me,'" Jenny told FOX4 Kansas City.
Hally's father also marveled at how rare his daughter's infection is.
"You are more likely to die from drowning than you are from ever dying from this organism, it's like one in a billion, this girl's a one in a billion," he said.
"There's a reason that God picked her, and I'm still trying to figure that out. But once I do – watch out. It's going to be great."
There are only about three cases a year of PAM in the United States, according to The Weather Channel, and symptoms typically set in within five days of infection. They include fever, headache, loss of balance and control, nausea, stiff neck, and vomiting.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a health warning Wednesday advising freshwater swimmers to keep their heads above water, wear nose clips, or avoid going into freshwater altogether. Adequately chlorinated pools do not contain brain-eating amoebas.
A similar health warning was issued in Florida.
