NYC College Student Dies of Brain-Eating Amoeba Linked to Maryland: Official

What to Know

  • Kerry Stoutenburgh, 19, had been vacationing with her family in Maryland
  • Health officials think she contracted the infection while swimming in a body of fresh water, where the amoeba occurs naturally
  • The young woman dreamed of becoming a filmmaker and was studying at CUNY Brooklyn

A New York City college student has died of a rare brain infection she probably contracted while swimming in a body of fresh water in Maryland, according to health officials. 

New York state officials identified the student as 19-year-old Kerry Stoutenburgh of Kingston in Ulster County, and notified the Cecil County health department in northeastern Maryland, according to the department spokesman there. 

Stoutenburgh was living in Brighton Beach as she studied film and history at CUNY Brooklyn, the school's president, Michelle J. Anderson, said. She dreamed of becoming a filmmaker, according to a fundraising page set up to help her family. 

Anderson said in a statement, "On behalf of the entire campus community, I want to extend our condolences to Kerry's family during this difficult time of mourning. The students, staff, and faculty Kerry touched will deeply miss her." 

The Daily Freeman reports that Dr. Carol Smith, health commissioner in Ulster County, New York, says officials there confirmed that Stoutenburgh's death on Aug. 31 was caused by the Naegleria fowleri amoeba.

The amoeba occurs naturally in bodies of warm, fresh water, Cecil County health department spokesman Gregg Bortz told The Associated Press. He says Stoutenburgh visited Maryland in mid-August and swam in county waters.

She had been vacationing with her family, according to the GoFundMe page.

Stoutenbergh was a varsity swimmer and National Honor Society member at Kingston High School, a Girl Scout and a "huge movie enthusiast," according to the GoFundMe page. 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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