Teen Is 4th Person to Survive Brain-Eating Amoeba in 50 Years

A Florida teen has become only the fourth person in the last 50 years to survive an infection from "naegleria fowleri" -- also commonly known as the "brain-eating amoeba."

Sebastian DeLeon, 16, continues his recovery after contracting the infection earlier this month.

DeLeon was taken to Florida Children's Hospital in Orlando, Florida, with a severe headache on Aug. 8. Doctors believe the teen, a camp counselor, was exposed to the amoeba at a freshwater lake earlier in the week.

Immediately after arriving in the emergency room, DeLeon's doctors suspected a serious infection, especially since the teen had early signs of meningitis. Tests of DeLeon's spinal fluids found evidence of the amoeba, an infection that is fatal in 97 percent of cases.

"He presented on Friday and had a worsening headache on Saturday," Dr. Humberto Liriano, who treated DeLeon, told reporters today. "The boy was hospitalized on Sunday, 30 hours after first developing a headache."

Doctors took quick action to save DeLeon, lowering the teen's body temperature and putting him in an induced coma.

Doctors at Florida Children's Hospital were also able to get quick access to a rare medication currently being investigated by the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention called "miltefosine," which has shown some promise in killing the amoeba. Since the medication may not work quickly enough to stop the damage from the amoeba, the doctors made the decision to put DeLeon in an induced coma and lower his overall body temperature to just 33 degrees in order to keep the amoeba still.

"The amoeba loves warm water and you cool it and the amoeba becomes a cyst," Liriano explained.

The amoeba is naturally occurring in fresh water lakes and ponds. It can cause a fatal infection when it travels up the nasal passage to the brain.

DeLeon remained in an induced coma for days with medical staff monitoring his vital signs.

"We watched and waited for Sebastian while he was in the coma," Liraino said.

A few days later doctors woke him up and removed his breathing tube. According to Liraino, DeLeon was speaking hours later.

"He's walking, talking. It's a miracle," said Liraino.

DeLeon's mother thanked the "wonderful team" at the hospital that treated her son.

"God has given us a miracle for having our son back and having him full of life," she said. "We are so thankful for the gift of life."