PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – A 13-year-old Florida boy battling a rare brain-eating amoeba after a trip to the beach will be moving to Chicago Wednesday to continue his treatment.
Caleb Ziegelbauer went to Port Charlotte Beach with his family on July 1 and one week later began experiencing headaches and hallucinations. The teen’s family said doctors diagnosed him with Naegleria fowleri, a rare brain-eating amoeba, that went through his nose and infected his brain.
[TRENDING: Ask Trooper Steve: Is it illegal in Florida to use a radar detector in your car? | Here’s what’s happening in the tropics | Win tickets to Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
Few people survive the condition, according to the CDC. There have been 154 known cases between 1962 and 2021, and only four people have survived.
Ziegelbauer has been in the hospital ever since, and his story has garnered international attention.
On Wednesday, an air ambulance will transfer him to Chicago to continue his treatment.
Port Charlotte Beach is bordered by Alligator Bay and Peace River. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Naegleria fowleri is found in bodies of warm freshwater, such as lakes and rivers, and not found in salt water, like the ocean.
According to a GoFundMe set up for the boy’s family, Ziegelbauer is making some improvement, including some movement in different parts of his body.