A brain-eating parasite has led to the death of Zachary Reyna after he became ill in early August, CNN reported.
Reyna's family believes the 12-year-old got infected with primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), the often fatal parasite, after swimming in a water-filled ditch near his home on Aug. 3. His death was announced on a Facebook page that was originally made as a prayer and message board for friends and family. The Reyna family released a statement on Saturday.
"...We couldn't be so strong today without you. I hope that Zac continues to touch people and his time here is remembered forever," the post read. "We thank everyone for being so caring and I know it's going to be tough on us at first, but we have an awesome support team back home and we are grateful for that. The battle is over for Zac but he won the war."
Just hours after, another post followed, announcing that Reyna's organs would be donated.
"Zac's organs are very strong and his parents have decided to donate his organs to others in need," the post read. "Even though Zac has passed, he will still be saving many lives."
According to the post, Reyna would be kept on a ventilator to allow friends and family to visit him.
Doctors tried using an experimental drug on the boy-- the same one they used on Kali Hardig, also 12, of Louisiana, who became infected with the same deadly parasite. Hardig is the third person the last 50 years to survive from the brain-eating infection. However, doctors in Louisiana said they weren't sure if the new medicine should be fully credited to saving Hardig's life.
"It's a rare infection; most doctors have never seen this infection," Dr. Jennifer Cope of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. "So there's a possibility that recognizing this infection earlier, starting treatment earlier and aggressively managing the increased intracranial pressure, contributed to a better outcome."
Reyna underwent brain surgery after he was admitted to the hospital. Shortly after, the Florida Department of Health released a warning to the public, suggesting that everyone take precautions while swimming in fresh water.
