Broward swimmer contracts brain-eating amoeba; health officials investigating

A person in Broward County is in a hospital receiving treatment after contracting a potentially deadly infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba, according to the Florida Department of Health.

Officials confirmed that there was a local case of naegleria fowleri, a microscopic, single-cell amoeba commonly found in freshwater lakes, ponds and rivers. While the health department would not specify where the person came in contact with the amoeba, it did say that the person swam in unsanitary water on private property.

Just this week, 11-year-old Hannah Collins died in South Carolina after being infected with the brain-eating amoeba in a river.

This story was originally published August 10, 2016 at 11:39 PM with the headline "Broward swimmer contracts brain-eating amoeba; health officials investigating."