"The USNWC, after discussion with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and local health officials, has decided to temporarily suspend all whitewater activities effective immediately," according to a statement from the facility obtained by PEOPLE.
"This decision was made after initial test results found Naegleria Fowleri DNA was present in the whitewater system," the statement said. "The USNWC is working with the CDC and local health officials to develop next steps."
Eighteen-year-old Lauren Seitz of Westerville, Ohio, died June 19th after health department officials say the raft she was in overturned and the amoeba went up her nose, causing the deadly infection.
Seitz was with a group of teens from her church youth group in Ohio travelling to churches and nursing homes performing music and they went rafting for fun.
Workers from the Centers for Disease Control have been taking water samples since Wednesday at the center and late Friday Dr. Marcus Plescia, the head of the Mecklenburg County Health department, tells PEOPLE.
Recent tests by the CDC and local health officials show the presence of the amoeba that caused Seitz’s death. Eleven samples were taken and it was found in almost every one of the samples, he says.
“It’s not a great surprise we found that there,” Plescia says. “This is a microorganism that’s very common. If we sampled lakes and rivers, we’d probably find this…and you need to realize because of where the water center is right on the Catawba river, there’s run off, there’s all kinds of ways this organism could get in.”
Plescia also pointed out just how rare this type of infection is. There have only been 35 cases in the last 10 years nationwide.
"It can be a very difficult organism to get rid of but we’re going to make sure that the concentrations are low," Plescia says. "They [the USNWC] have a very sophisticated disinfection system..but in this case that’s proven to be ineffective at keeping the organism out of the water.”
Back in Ohio, friends and family will spend Saturday celebrating her life and love of music.
Her parents, James and Heidi Seitz, established The Lauren Elisabeth Seitz Memorial Music Fund in their daughter’s honor.
By: Michelle Boudin (People Magazine).
Photo: Long Room.
Review: Emerging Market Formulations & Research Unit, FLAGSHIP RECORDS.
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