Brain-Eating Amoeba in Mérida Mall Lake Prompts Surveillance of 240 People

Mérida, Yucatán — Yucatan health officials are monitoring 240 people who entered the artificial lake of a shopping mall in Mérida, where the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri was detected and a 34-year-old man died, the state Health Secretariat (SSY) said.

Roughly 300 people came into contact with the lake, at a well-known shopping center in the city, and all were placed under epidemiological surveillance. Health Secretary Miguel Alberto Alcocer Gamboa said the bathers entered the water between Aug. 4 and Aug. 15. The amoeba was later confirmed as the cause of death of a 34-year-old instructor.

“All of them were monitored to detect possible symptoms in time, and as the surveillance period passes without signs of illness, some are removed from the monitoring,” Alcocer Gamboa said.

He said 240 people who took part in water activities at the mall remain under observation. Those who were exposed are being given information about warning symptoms and a phone number to reach health services directly if any of them appear.

Symptoms Officials Are Tracking

Health authorities are asking the group to watch for fever, severe headache, nausea, vomiting and dizziness, and to seek medical care immediately if any of those symptoms develop.

The surveillance period runs for one month after exposure. So far, Alcocer Gamboa said, no second case has been confirmed.

The state Directorate of Protection Against Health Risks has kept the mall’s lake closed since the health investigation began. Officials have opened a proceeding to determine whether the companies responsible for maintaining the lake and its water quality failed to comply with their health obligations.