Brain-eating amoeba did not cause Minn. teen's death

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The death of a Minnesota teen earlier this summer was not related to a rare water-borne amoeba, but instead to meningitis brought on by a skateboarding accident, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

Doctors originally thought 14-year-old Hunter Boutain died from a case of primary amebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM -- a very rare and severe brain infection caused by an amoeba called Naegleria fowleri. They believed Bountain was infected after swimming in Lake Minnewaska. The infection can happen after water goes up a swimmer's nose allowing an amoeba to reach the brain.

On Monday, the Minnesota Department of Health announced that autopsy results concluded that Hunter died on July 9 from a more common bacterial meningitis. The teen was more susceptible to meningitis because of a skull fracture from an earlier skateboarding accident. The teen and his family were not aware of the extent of his injuries from the accident and when he was hospitalized for the infection it was revealed he had suffered a skull fracture.

The health department does not regret warning the public about their initial suspicions that a brain-eating amoeba could have caused Boutain's death, according to Dough Schultz, a health department spokesman.

"In our discussions, we were very careful to point out this was a suspected case," Schultz said. "It's very unfortunate in public health when we're trying to do the right for all Minnesotans, that sometimes our message may be not fully understood and that can cause undo concern."