New case of brain-eating amoeba reported in South Carolina

A South Carolina resident has contracted an infection from the brain-eating amoeba, naegleria fowleri, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

The state epidemiologist Linda Bell said the exposure was thought to have occured on July 24, when the invididual was swimming near Martin’s Landing on the Edisto River in Charleston County, DHEC said.

The organism occurs naturally and is present in many warm water lakes, rivers and streams, but the infection is rare.

Naegleria fowleri is the same amoeba that took Lauren Seitz’s life after she most likely contracted it at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte earlier this summer.

The individual’s information and health conditions have not been released.

This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.

This story was originally published August 3, 2016 at 7:23 AM with the headline "New case of brain-eating amoeba reported in South Carolina."