Most people who come into contact with Naegleria fowleri never get sick. The amoeba can only infect a person when contaminated water goes up the nose, often during swimming or diving. It then travels to the brain, where it destroys brain tissue.

Infections caused by Naegleria fowleri can lead to symptoms including fever, seizures, hallucinations and death.

A lawyer for the family of 12-year-old Jaysen Carr said he died on July 18 after contracting a deadly infectious amoeba while swimming in a reservoir.