Photo: City of Arlington / Courtesy
TEXAS – The amoeba “brain-eating” allegedly claimed the life of a boy who apparently developed an infection after visiting a park in the Arlington, Texas, area, health officials said.
Officials with the Tarrant County Department of Public Health (TCPH) are investigating the child’s death.
In their report they revealed that the victim developed an infection due to an amoeba in the water, after visiting the recreational area where there are fountains to get wet in Don Misenhimer Park.
According to the statement, the TCPH and the municipality of Arlington, the authorities were notified about a minor who was hospitalized at Cook Children’s Medical Center after presenting primary amebic meningoencephalitis (MAP, for its acronym in English), which is a rare infection commonly caused by the amoeba Naegleria fowleri.
The investigation carried out by TCPH determined that the two possible causes in which the minor was exposed to said infection were the following:
1- The family home that belongs to Tarrant County
2- Don Misenhimer Park located on E Lonesome Dove Trail in Arlington.
On 24 September 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the presence of the amoeba Naegleria Fowleri in the aquatic area of said park. It was confirmed after tests in the water for which they determined that the site in Arlington was highly the place where the child contracted said infection.
The minor has not been identified and it was only indicated that he died in the hospital on 11 of September, but for privacy reasons they will not reveal your identity or additional details.
The investigation of tests in the water also revealed that during the dates that the minor visited the place, the necessary tests were not registered or carried out in the water, which is a requirement every day before opening the park.
On September 5, officials closed the park and other water areas for the rest of the year as a precaution after the boy’s hospitalization.
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