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Willow Springs Water Park Likely Linked To Infection Closes

willowsprings.net

The Arkansas Department of Health says a Little Rock water park has closed after officials said the facility was likely the source of a rare and potentially deadly brain infection.

State Epidemiologist Dr. Dirk Haselow said Friday that the owners of Willow Springs Water Park voluntarily decided to close the park after meeting with health officials.

Health officials recently confirmed a rare form of meningitis called primary amebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM, in Arkansas.

That condition is caused by an organism commonly found in warm freshwater that can travel up the nose and into the brain.

Health officials say the water park is most likely the source of the recent infection. The Department of Health says another case of PAM was possibly connected to the park in 2010.