A minor, whose identity has not been released, has died after being infected with the ‘brain-eating’ amoeba at a Texas water attraction. It is a rare disease.
Child dies after being infected with ‘brain-eating’ amoeba at public water attraction
The toddler was hospitalized on September 5 with primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, a rare brain infection caused by the amoeba naegleria fowleri, colloquially known as the “brain-eating” amoeba, which causes inflammation of the brain and destruction of brain tissue.
The child died on September 11, according to investigation sources.
Authorities ordered the closure of all public water parks in Arlington.
In this case, the contagion occurred on a splash pad, which is a water attraction consisting of an area where water squirts from the ground or from different locations.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed the presence of the amoeba in water samples taken at the splash pad at Don Misenhimer Park last Friday.
Local authorities, who assure that the tap water is still safe to drink, have acknowledged that a review of the facilities has detected defects in the proper maintenance of these water attractions.
This case has become known after another seven-year-old child lost his life for the same reason after bathing in a lake in California last July.
According to the CDC, this amoeba is a single-celled living microbe called Naegleria.
It lives in both warm freshwater (lakes, rivers and hot springs) and on land, but not all of these microbes are deadly; only one species affects people: Naegleria fowleri. It is transmitted through the nose.
Symptoms of Naegleria fowleri infection usually begin two to 15 days after exposure to the amoeba.
It is a rare disease. In fact, 34 cases have been diagnosed in the United States between 2019 and 2020.
