A 16-month-old child is believed to have died of an infection by the brain-eating amoeba a few days after playing in a wading pool in Arkansas in the United States, where samples have reportedly shown the presence of the organism in the water.
It was early September when the young child allegedly became infected with the Naegleria Fowleri infection, which “destroys brain tissue, causes swelling of the brain and in some cases death,” from a wading pool with water jets from a country club in Little Rock, according to an Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) press release reported by The Independent on Monday.
This parasite, better known as the brain-eating amoeba, is an extremely rare single-celled microorganism that enters through the nose and travels to the brain. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), infections that occur are often fatal.
Unfortunately, the 16-month-old child is said to have succumbed to the infection after a few days in hospital. Through sampling, the presence of Naegleria fowleri was determined in the paddling pool, which has since been closed by the country club, as well as the associated swimming pool.
“There is no ongoing risk to the public associated with this exposure,” the ADH also clarified, according to British media.
This was the second child exposed to this parasite via a wading pool, while a three-year-old reportedly died in Texas in 2021 under similar conditions where the water was not adequately circulated and disinfected.
The organism also lives in soil and in freshwater lakes, rivers, ponds and hot springs, according to The Independent, the CDC said on its website.