Child Dies Of Rare Infection Caused By Deadly Amoeba Found At Texas Splash Pad

A child died earlier this month after being infected by a deadly amoeba at a splash pad, the city of Arlington, Texas, revealed Monday.

A statement by the city of Arlington said the child had visited the splash pad at Don Misenhimer Park, reported NBC 5. His identity and age were withheld for privacy reasons.

The Tarrant County and City of Arlington officials were reportedly notified on Sept. 5 the child was hospitalized at Cook Children's Medical Center with primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a rare infection caused by the Naegleria fowleri amoeba. He died six days later on Sept 11.

Naegleria fowleri, commonly referred to as the brain-eating amoeba, can cause a rare and devastating infection in the brain called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. Found in warm freshwater and soil, Naegleria fowleri usually infects people when contaminated water enters the body through the nose. Once the amoeba enters the nose, it travels to the brain where it causes PAM, which is usually fatal, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

An investigation by the Tarrant County Public Health determined two possible sources for the child’s exposure to contaminated water -- the family’s home in Tarrant County or the Don Misenhimer Park splash pad in Arlington, the statement said.

Water samples were collected from the splash pad and sent to the CDC, which confirmed the presence of N. fowleri amoeba on Friday. Following this, it was determined the splash pad was the likely source of the exposure to the deadly parasite.

The authorities immediately closed the park's splash pad. The city also closed all public splash pads for the remainder of the year as a precaution.

However, there have been no other reports of illness, and the drinking water has not been affected, the officials said in the statement. No disciplinary action has been taken against anyone.

City officials told media outlet WFAA a lawsuit was expected from the family. Arlington Mayor Jim Ross told WFAA the city failed in protecting the child, while admitting that he and his grandkids have used splash pads within the city.

"Part of our job as city leaders is to protect our citizens, and we failed, we absolutely failed. The best way to deal with this thing is to come straight down main street and own it, we screwed up. Make no mistake, I'm taking responsibility for this, this happened under my watch and the buck stops here," Mayor Ross said.

Though all splash pads passed their annual review before summer, the investigation into the incident revealed deficiencies in water quality testing at some parks. "We have identified gaps in our daily inspection program," Deputy City Manager Lemuel Randolph said, NBC reported. "Those gaps resulted in us not meeting our maintenance standards at our splash pads."

The statement said records from Misenhimer Park and the Beacon Recreation center showed "parks and recreation employees did not consistently record, or in some cases did not conduct, water quality testing that is required prior to the facilities opening each day."

The review of inspection logs also found water chlorination readings were not documented at Don Misenhimer splash pad on two of the three dates that the child visited the location in late August and early September.