New Jersey man dies after contracting brain-eating parasite

Fabrizio Stabile died from a brain-eating parasite (GoFundMe)

A New Jersey man died after suffering from complications of a brain-eating parasite he may have contracted after visiting a Texas resort, his family said last week.

Fabrizio Stabile, 29, of Ventnor, had been in the pool at BSR Cable Park in Waco, Texas, according to NJ.com.

The Waco Tribune-Herald reports Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is testing BSR Cable Park's Surf Resort for Naegleria fowleri, a rare but highly deadly ameba colloquially known as a "brain-eating amoeba."

Stabile returned to New Jersey and began suffering from a headache on Sept. 16, according to the family’s GoFundMe page. Stabile tried to sleep it off, but the ailment wouldn’t go away. He attempted to sleep again, but woke up later speaking incoherently and couldn’t get out of bed, his family said.

He died five days later and tested positive for Naegleria fowleri the day before his death, his family said. Multiple test results for other bacteria and viruses had been negative or inconclusive.

“By the time Fabrizio was diagnosed, it was too late to administer the drug that had previously been provided to three of the only five known survivors in North America,” the GoFundMe page said. “Even so, this drug is not easily accessible.”

Naegleria fowleri is known as the “brain-eating amoeba” and is usually found in warm fresh water. The disease causes “primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), which destroys brain tissue and causes swelling and death," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Stabile was remembered as an avid outdoors lover who loved to surf and snowboard.

BSR Cable Park owner Stuart E. Parsons Jr. said it will continue to comply with requests related to the investigation of Fabrizio Stabile's death.