Tests done on 12-year-old Zachary Reyna show no signs of activity
from the brain-eating parasite he contracted earlier this month,
according to his father.
Doctors had given Zachary
the same experimental anti-amoeba drug used to treat 12-year-old Kali
Hardig recently in Arkansas, the Reyna family told CNN affiliate WBBH. The Arkansas girl is only the third person in the last 50 years to survive this deadly parasite.
Extensive damage has been done to Zachary's brain, his father wrote Wednesday on a Facebook page dedicated to the Little League baseball player. Right now the family is looking for signs that his brain is still active.
"This is a small victory
but we know the battle is not over," he wrote. "I feel like Zac was in a
slump. ... All ball players go through them. We all do. As his Dad and
Coach I do all I can to help him get out of it by giving him extra
training and making adjustments to his swing. We all go through tough
times and we need to find God and prayer to get through theses slumps of
life."
The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention says it will make the experimental drug that
helped fight Zachary's amoeba available to physicians who consult it.
The drug was originally created for breast cancer treatment, but has
since been found effective against free-living amoeba infections.
Zachary's family told CNN affiliate WBBH-TV
that the boy was kneeboarding with friends in a water-filled ditch by
his house in LaBelle, Florida, on August 3. He slept the entire next
day.
Zachary is an active
seventh-grader, his family said, so sleeping that much was unusual. His
mother took him to the hospital immediately. He had brain surgery, and
doctors diagnosed him with primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, according to WBBH. The family said he is currently in the intensive care unit at the Miami Children's Hospital.
After hearing of Zachary's case, the Florida Department of Health issued a warning for swimmers.
High water temperatures and low water levels provide the perfect breeding ground for this rare amoeba, called Naegleria fowleri, officials said. They warned the public to be wary when swimming, jumping or diving in freshwater with these conditions.
Kali Hardig was infected with the same parasite last month and was at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock.
The cases are nearly always deadly, but Kali's condition is giving the Reyna family some hope.
"We continue to be
amazed by Kali's progress," her family said in a statement last week.
"Today she's able to sit up on her own, write some words on a white
board and stand with assistance for very brief stretches. She's even
able to throw and catch a ball with her therapists. We are grateful for
the continued prayers from Kali's supporters, which no doubt drive her
recovery."
Her attending physician,
Dr. Vikki Stefans at Arkansas Children's Hospital's Progressive Rehab
Unit, said in a statement: "Kali's progress is definitely a credit to
her wonderful family and support system. There is no longer a question
of whether she'll survive and do well, but just how well."
Zachary's family is hoping he becomes survivor No. 4.
"He's strong," his brother, Brandon Villarreal, told WBBH. "He's really, really strong."
Getting Naegleria
fowleri is extremely rare; between 2001 and 2010, there were only 32
reported cases in the United States, according to the CDC. Most of the
cases have been in the Southeast.
Naegleria fowleri is
found in hot springs and warm freshwater, most often in the Southeastern
United States. The amoeba enters the body through the nose and travels
to the brain. There is no danger of infection from drinking contaminated
water, the CDC said.
"This infection is one
of the most severe infections that we know of," Dr. Dirk Haselow of the
Arkansas Department of Health told CNN affiliate WMC-TV about Kali's case. "Ninety-nine percent of people who get it die."
Dr. Sanjiv Pasala, one
of Kali's attending physicians, said doctors immediately started
treating the girl with the experimental anti-amoeba drug they received
directly from the CDC. They also reduced the girl's feverish body
temperature to 93 degrees. Doctors have used that technique in some
brain injury cases as a way to preserve undamaged brain tissue.
Several weeks ago, doctors checked the girl's cerebral spinal fluid and could not find any presence of the amoeba.
Willow Springs Water
Park in Little Rock is the most likely source of Kali's infection, the
Arkansas Department of Health said. Another case of the same parasite
was reported in 2010 and was possibly linked to Willow Springs, a
three-acre sand-bottom, spring-fed lake.
"Based on the occurrence
of two cases of this rare infection in association with the same body
of water and the unique features of the park, the ADH has asked the
owner of Willow Springs to voluntarily close the water park to ensure
the health and safety of the public," the health department said.
Willow Springs' website
says its water is pH-balanced, chemically treated, chlorinated and
routinely monitored by the health department.
The first symptoms of
primary amoebic meningoencephalitis appear one to seven days after
infection, including headache, fever, nausea, vomiting and a stiff neck,
according to the CDC.
"Later symptoms include
confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of
balance, seizures and hallucinations," the agency website says. "After
the start of symptoms, the disease progresses rapidly and usually causes
death within one to 12 days."
Here are some tips from the CDC to help lower the risk of infection:
• Avoid swimming in freshwater when the water temperature is high and the water level is low.
• Hold your nose shut or use nose clips.
• Avoid stirring up the sediment while wading in shallow, warm freshwater areas.
• If you are irrigating,
flushing or rinsing your sinuses (for example, by using a neti pot),
use water that has been distilled or sterilized.
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