Child dies from brain-eating amoeba after visiting Texas wading pool

A boy has died from a brain-eating amoeba he picked up while playing at a Texas wading pool, authorities said.

Health officials have determined that the unidentified child “likely” contracted Naegleria fowleri during a visit to Don Misenhimer Park in Arlington, prompting the city to close all public fountains for the rest of the year, have officials said.

Deputy city manager Lemuel Randolph said “gaps” in water inspection systems had been identified as part of an investigation into the child’s illness.

“These deficiencies have prevented us from meeting our maintenance standards on our playgrounds,” Randolph said in a statement.

“All play areas will remain closed until we are satisfied that our systems are functioning as they should, and we have confirmed a maintenance protocol that meets city, county and state standards. “

The child was hospitalized on September 5 with a rare infection called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis and died on September 11, the city of Arlington said in a press release. He had visited the park three times in late August and early September, the statement said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the presence of the amoeba in the splash zone and determined that this was likely the source of the child’s exposure, the city said.

According to the statement, records of the city’s water features, including Don Misenhimer, showed that park and recreation employees did not record or perform the required daily water quality tests.

Inspection logs reportedly revealed that chlorine levels had not been documented at the splashing area for two of the three days the child visited.

There were only 34 such infections reported between 2010 and 19, the city said, citing CDC data. It typically enters people’s bodies through the nose when they swim in untreated fresh water, the release said.