Boy dies from brain-eating amoeba found at Texas splash pad

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – A child has died after being infected with a rare brain-eating amoeba that was found at a Texas splash pad.

Officials in Arlington said Monday that the city and Tarrant County Public Health were notified on Sept. 5 that a child was hospitalized with primary amebic meningoencephalitis, a rare and often fatal infection.

The boy died on Sept. 11. Health officials closed all of the city’s public splash pads.

The boy had visited the Don Misenhimer Park splash pad several times in recent weeks and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the presence of the ameba in water samples from there on Friday.

A city review discovered lapses in water quality testing at several parks.