A seven-year-old boy was infected with a rare brain-eating amoeba as he was swimming in a Northern California lake. He died in a hospital on Friday, his family confirmed.

David Pruitt, 7, of Tehama County, succumbed to primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM, on August 7, according to his aunt Crystal Hayley.

“He was rushed to the emergency room on July 30 and then flown to UC Davis Medical Center where he was on life support with severe brain swelling,” Hayley stated a fundraising site she created for the family to raise funds for his care and funeral.

Also Read | India logs 32,937 COVID cases, 417 deaths in 24 hours

In a news release on August 4, the Tehama County Health Services Agency said, “The infection is extremely rare, and there have only been 10 cases reported in California since 1971…the boy was likely infected in a lake in Tehama County.” However, the agency didn’t reveal the identity of the boy or the location where he got infected.

Tehama County public health officials did not return telephone messages from The Associated Press seeking comment, while the boy’s parents declined to comment.

But Hayley said, “They want people to be aware of this amoeba and the illness signs.”

The parasite, called Naegleria fowleri, infects people after contaminated water enters their body through the nose, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Infection normally occurs when people go swimming or diving in warm freshwater places, like lakes and rivers. In rare instances, people can get infected if warm water from a swimming pool that has not been adequately treated with chlorine enters the nose,” the CDC said on its page, describing the infection.

“Once the amoeba enters the nose, it travels to the brain where it causes PAM, which is usually fatal,” it said.

“In the first stage of infection, patients report having a severe headache, fever, nausea and vomiting. As the infection worsens, they can develop a stiff neck and experience seizures or hallucinations,” CDC added.