Fatal Naegleria fowleri infection in California boy after hot spring swimming

A case report describes a fatal infection in a previously healthy boy in California. The exposure was swimming in hot spring water in October 2018. The outcome was death from primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) caused by Naegleria fowleri. The report documents 1 death. Safety and tolerability data were not reported. Follow-up duration was not reported. The key limitation is that this is a single case report. No inferences about risk, incidence, or generalizability can be made. The practice relevance is not reported. This field note serves as a reminder of this rare, geographically dispersed, and almost universally fatal infection associated with warm freshwater exposure.