An 18-year-old girl from Ohio has died from a suspected brain-eating amoeba after a visit to the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, according to health officials.

Mecklenburg County and North Carolina State health officials have been told by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the 18-year-old died on Sunday, June 19, due to the amoeba that is naturally present in warm lakes during the summer. Lauren Elisabeth Seitz of Westerville, Ohio passed due to Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis, an infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, a one-celled organism that does not cause illness if swallowed, but can be fatal if forced up the nose, according to the CDC.

The NC DHHS says the only known underwater exposure was believed to be when riding in a raft with several other that overturned at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte.

According to the CDC, fewer than 10 cases have been reported annually in the United State during the last 53 years. This ameba can cause severe illness up to nine days after exposure. A person cannot be infected with Naegleria fowleri by drinking contaminated water and the ameba is not found in salt water.

The Mecklenburg County Health Department, CDC, Ohio Department of Public Health, Franklin County (Ohio) Public Health Department, the U.S. National Whitewater Center and the North Carolina Division of Public Health are collaborating with further investigation.

Most cases of N. fowleri disease occur in Southern or Southwestern states. Over half of all infections have been in Florida and Texas.