A 10-YEAR-OLD girl died after allegedly contracting a brain-eating bug from a swimming pool.
Stefanía Villamizar González developed ear pain and a fever and began vomiting two days into her family holiday.
She was treated for a suspected ear infection before returning home, where her discomfort eased off.
But a fortnight after her initial symptoms, she struggled to get out of bed and began convulsing.
She was taken to hospital, where she remained under strict medical care until her death over three weeks later.
After a weeks-long investigation, experts gave her cause of death as amoebic encephalitis.
It is a rare central nervous system infection with a 95 per cent chance of death.
They believe it was caused by Naegleria fowleri, often dubbed the “brain-eating amoeba”, which is often found in badly managed pools or stagnant water.
Devastated mum Tatiana González believes her daughter contracted it through her nose as she played in the water in Santa Marta, Colombia, in June.
Stefanía, from Bucaramanga, was a keen tennis player, skater, and ballet dancer who dreamed of becoming a gymnast.
A close relative told local media: “We share our story so that other children and families do not suffer what we are going through.
“We are destroyed, devastated.”
The operations manager of the hotel where Stefanía is believed to have contracted the amoeba has pledged to reinforce safety standards.
Local media made no mention of any criminal charges.
Naegleria fowleri lives in soil and warm, freshwater lakes, rivers, ponds and hot springs, but can also be found in pools and splash pads that are not properly maintained, experts say.
It infects people when water containing the amoeba enters the body through the nose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
It then feeds on brain tissue, leading to severe neurological damage.
Symptoms typically begin about five days later, with a severe headache, fever, nausea and vomiting.
The illness then usually progresses, causing a stiff neck, seizures, altered mental status, hallucinations and sometimes a coma.
This can then lead to death.
Infections are rare, but it is fatal in almost all cases, with a survival rate of just three per cent.
In order to avoid falling ill, health officials recommend:
