A very rare brain infection has made a child critically ill. The infection was caused by a freshwater amoeba when the child was swimming in Pope County's Lake Minnewaska.

In an announcement, the Minnesota Department of Health announced Tuesday evening that the child was detected with primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). The child whose age has not been disclosed by health officials has developed the rare form of meningitis caused by an amoeba known as Naegleria fowlers.

A severe brain infection is caused by the amoeba, which proves fatal for the sufferer. It could become the plight of humans after entering the body via nose. A person can't become its victim by drinking contaminated water, but the person can certainly contract it while swimming.

MDH Waterborne Diseases Unit Supervisor Trisha Robinson said privacy laws restricted officials from providing further details about the condition of the infected child.

Headaches, vomiting and nausea are the symptoms that a sufferer experiences about five days after exposure. .

"While the only sure way to prevent PAM is to avoid participation in freshwater-related activities, you can reduce your risk by keeping your head out of the water, using nose clips or holding the nose shut, and avoiding stirring up sediment at the bottom of shallow freshwater areas", said she.

Although Naegleria is found all over the world, infections are very rarely reported. In the period between 2001 and 2011, only 40 cases were reported in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirm all Naegleria cases, but it does not have any reliable test to detect the organism.