North Carolina teen dies after contracting rare brain-eating amoeba found in freshwater: Officials
Microscopic 3D render of Naegleria fowleri flagellate stage with twin flagella swimming in aquatic environment. (Stock photo koto_feja/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A North Carolina teenager has died after contracting a rare brain-eating amoeba called Naegleria fowleri that’s found in warm freshwater, state health officials said.
The teenager, whose identity was not released, died on Monday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said on Tuesday.
“We extend our condolences to the family, friends and community impacted by this loss,” the department said in a statement.
NCDHHS said last Thursday that the teenager was critically ill and that “once symptoms start, the disease progresses rapidly and usually causes death within about five days.”
Naegleria fowleri can be found in warm freshwater including ponds, lakes and rivers, and it grows best in hotter water, state health officials said. NCDHHS said Monday that it’s working with federal and local partners “to investigate all possible sources” of this case.
“The amoeba does not cause illness if swallowed but can be fatal if water with the amoeba in it is forced up the nose into the brain, which can occur by jumping into water, diving, water-skiing or other water activities,” NCDHHS said.
The U.S. usually sees fewer than 10 cases a year of Naegleria fowleri infection, also known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis or PAM, state health officials said.
The first symptoms can be severe headache, nausea, vomiting and fever, and later symptoms include stiff neck, seizures and coma, NCDHHS said.
Another girl, 8-year-old Lillian Smart in Louisiana, died in August from Naegleria fowleri, which she likely contracted while swimming in a lake, her family and state health officials said, according to The Associated Press.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gives the keynote address at a Children’s Health Defense event in Washington, Sept. 17, 2026. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told the vaccine-skeptic group Children’s Health Defense on Thursday they have “a friend in the White House” in President Donald Trump.
Kennedy delivered the keynote address in Washington, D.C., at a conference hosted by the group, noting that Trump has given directives to strengthen research, transparency and parental choice around childhood vaccines.
“Let me be clear. You have a strong and steadfast friend at the White House,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy also said he wanted to make more sweeping changes on “day one” but couldn’t do so due to “procedures.”
“In government, a bunch of things have to happen before something else happens or you get sued,” he said. “It’s a very laborious system and there’s a lot of inertia built in that … if we were able to overcome it we would have changed things on day one, but those would have been short-lived and I would have been out of a job because I have to manage my agency competently according to the law and according to procedures.”
Children’s Health Defense, which advocates against the recommended vaccine schedule for children, was co-founded by Kennedy. He resigned from the board ahead of his confirmation as HHS Secretary.
The group described the conference as a “timely conversation [that] will take place against a backdrop of unprecedented opportunity and risk for the health freedom movement.”
Also scheduled to appear were Republican Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rand Paul of Kentucky, as well as Republican Reps. Paul Gosar of Arizona and Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
Dr. Fiona Havers, an infectious diseases physician and a former leading vaccine expert at the CDC, said the Children’s Health Defense (CHD) has spread false and misleading information “that has contributed directly to declining vaccination rates across the country.”
“Americans are now tragically experiencing the direct consequences of this, with more than 3,000 measles cases this year and four measles-related deaths reported in just the last few weeks,” Havers told ABC News in a statement. “By speaking at CHD’s conference, RFK Jr. is using his position as the U.S. government’s top public health official in a way that legitimizes CHD’s anti-vaccine message and undercuts efforts by CDC, state health agencies, clinicians and others to get these outbreaks under control.”
The HHS did not immediately return ABC News’ request for comment.
Kennedy said that Trump asked him to “vigorously investigate the potential contribution of childhood vaccines to the chronic disease epidemic.”
Kennedy claimed that children went from receiving three vaccines when he was a child to 94 doses of 18 vaccines currently. Doctors have previously told ABC News that excluding annual flu and COVID-19 shots, children generally receive roughly 30 vaccine doses — many in combined injections — before the age of 18
“The question is … should we be looking at the potential that some of these chronic illnesses are associated with vaccines?” Kennedy said.
“As you can see, many of these adverse events [from vaccines] include diseases, chronic illnesses that are part of the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy said later in his speech. “In other words, illnesses that became suddenly epidemic in our kids after 1989.”
The year 1989 was also when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians recommended children receive a second measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) dose, although Kennedy did not mention that specific vaccine.
Extensive scientific research has shown no causal link between the MMR vaccine and the development of chronic diseases.
During his confirmation hearings in 2025, Kennedy said he wouldn’t prevent access to vaccines, saying that he supports vaccines. Since then, he’s also said he believes the choice should be left up to parents.
Last year, Kennedy dismissed all 17 members of the ACIP and appointed his own hand-selected members.
The committee then voted to remove the universal recommendation for the hepatitis B shot at birth and to narrow existing recommendations for the combined MMRV shot that protects against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox.
The group also voted against recommending flu vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, which is used to prevent microbial contamination of vaccines. Most flu vaccines currently used in the U.S. contain little to no thimerosal, but both the Food and Drug Administration and the CDC say there is no evidence that low doses of thimerosal in vaccines cause harm other than minor reactions at the injection site, such as redness or swelling.
Additionally, at the beginning of this year, Kennedy made changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, reducing the number of recommended shots from 17 to 11.
In March, a federal Massachusetts judge blocked changes to the vaccine schedule, suspended the appointments of the 13 members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee and stayed all votes taken by the Kennedy-nominated members.
Kennedy said during his speech that he would not comment on the judge’s ruling because the case remains in litigation.
President Donald Trump has nominated Dr. Erica Schwartz, to be the Director of the CDC, April 16, 2026. (Department of Health and Human Services)
(WASHINGTON) — Dr. Erica Schwartz is set to appear before a Senate committee on Wednesday for her confirmation hearing as the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Schwartz, a formal deputy surgeon general, was nominated by President Donald Trump in April. Trump made the announcement in a post on Truth Social, describing Schwartz as “incredibly talented.”
Schwartz is the fourth person named or nominated as head of the CDC since last summer. If confirmed by the Senate, Schwartz will replace Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, who took over as acting CDC director in February.
Schwartz earned a medical degree from Brown University and served in the U.S. Navy until 2005.
She served in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, as the Coast Guard Chief Medical Officer and as Deputy Surgeon General from 2019 to early 2021, during the first Trump administration.
“I was very pleased to see Dr. Schwartz nominated to be the next director of the CDC,” Dr. Richard Besser, former acting director of the CDC during the Obama administration, told ABC News. “What struck me is how refreshing it felt to see someone nominated for this job who actually has deep experience in public health and has the credentials necessary to lead a complex public health organization.”
Besser expressed concern about whether Schwartz, if confirmed, will have the independence from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to make public health recommendations, referencing a previous CDC director: Susan Monarez.
Monarez was confirmed as CDC director in July 2025, but she held the post for less than a month. Monarez was fired by Kennedy for reportedly not rubber-stamping the health secretary’s vaccine agenda or firing high-ranking CDC leaders whom he opposed.
The turmoil led to both Kennedy and Monarez appearing in front of Senate committees to address the ousting.
At a Senate hearing, Kennedy denied telling Monarez to accept vaccine recommendations without scientific evidence and claimed she was fired in part because she told him she was untrustworthy.
Besser said he expects that Schwartz will be asked by members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) about her perspectives on vaccinations, the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the rise of measles in the U.S.
“Those are some of the critical areas I think she’ll be asked about. There are so many other areas that are of concern to those who have relied on the CDC to prevent illness and promote health,” he said.
Sean Kaufman will appear before the Senate HELP Committee for his confirmation hearing on Wednesday. Kaufman was nominated to lead the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, which was recently absorbed under CDC as part of an HHS reorganization in 2025.
Kaufman has claimed without evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine caused “excessive death and injury … in the United States and globally.” Health officials have said COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective following clinical trials that involved tens of thousands of people and have since helped save millions of lives.
“What concerns me about Mr. Kaufman is that he has expressed very strong anti-vaccine views, and the ASPR is responsible for the strategic national stockpile,” Besser said. “So, I hope that the committee asks him questions to fully understand the approach that he would take in that role.”
President Donald Trump has nominated Dr. Erica Schwartz, to be the Director of the CDC, April 16, 2026. (Department of Health and Human Services)
(WASHINGTON) — A confirmation hearing began on Wednesday for Dr. Erica Schwartz to be the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Schwartz, a formal deputy surgeon general, was nominated by President Donald Trump in April. Trump made the announcement in a post on Truth Social, describing Schwartz as “incredibly talented.”
Schwartz is the fourth person named or nominated as head of the CDC since last summer. If confirmed by the Senate, Schwartz will replace Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, who took over as acting CDC director in February.
Schwartz earned a medical degree from Brown University and served in the U.S. Navy until 2005.
She served in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, as the Coast Guard Chief Medical Officer and as Deputy Surgeon General from 2019 to early 2021, during the first Trump administration.
“I was very pleased to see Dr. Schwartz nominated to be the next director of the CDC,” Dr. Richard Besser, former acting director of the CDC during the Obama administration, told ABC News. “What struck me is how refreshing it felt to see someone nominated for this job who actually has deep experience in public health and has the credentials necessary to lead a complex public health organization.”
Besser expressed concern about whether Schwartz, if confirmed, will have the independence from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to make public health recommendations, referencing a previous CDC director: Susan Monarez.
Monarez was confirmed as CDC director in July 2025, but she held the post for less than a month. Monarez was fired by Kennedy for reportedly not rubber-stamping the health secretary’s vaccine agenda or firing high-ranking CDC leaders whom he opposed.
The turmoil led to both Kennedy and Monarez appearing in front of Senate committees to address the ousting.
At a Senate hearing, Kennedy denied telling Monarez to accept vaccine recommendations without scientific evidence and claimed she was fired in part because she told him she was untrustworthy.
Besser said he expects that Schwartz will be asked by members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) about her perspectives on vaccinations, the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the rise of measles in the U.S.
“Those are some of the critical areas I think she’ll be asked about. There are so many other areas that are of concern to those who have relied on the CDC to prevent illness and promote health,” he said.
Sean Kaufman is also appearing before the Senate HELP Committee for his confirmation hearing on Wednesday. Kaufman was nominated to lead the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, which was recently absorbed under CDC as part of an HHS reorganization in 2025.
Kaufman has claimed without evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine caused “excessive death and injury … in the United States and globally.” Health officials have said COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective following clinical trials that involved tens of thousands of people and have since helped save millions of lives.
“What concerns me about Mr. Kaufman is that he has expressed very strong anti-vaccine views, and the ASPR is responsible for the strategic national stockpile,” Besser said. “So, I hope that the committee asks him questions to fully understand the approach that he would take in that role.”
