Overview

• Jaysen Carr’s parents held a press conference to demand laws requiring public notification and water testing following his fatal Naegleria fowleri infection.
• South Carolina has no statute mandating the reporting of brain-eating amoeba cases or routine testing of public freshwater sites, and Lake Murray remains open under existing guidelines.
• The state Department of Public Health confirmed this as South Carolina’s first Naegleria fowleri fatality since 2016, underscoring the infection’s rarity and deadliness.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasizes prevention—pinching the nose, using nose clips when diving and keeping the head above water—as the only reliable defense.
• Dominion Energy, which manages Lake Murray, expressed condolences and urged visitors to follow public health guidance without closing or testing the reservoir.