Fiambalá thermal complex to reopen following child's death from amoeba

The Fiambalá thermal complex in Catamarca, Argentina, is scheduled to reopen in approximately five days following a period of preventive closure. The closure was ordered after a 10-year-old boy died from primary amebic meningoencephalitis, an infection caused by the Naegleria fowleri amoeba, commonly known as the “brain-eating amoeba.”

During the closure, the municipality conducted deep cleaning, disinfection, and fumigation of the thermal pools, bathrooms, dining areas, and common spaces. Health authorities and provincial officials, including Governor Raúl Jalil, met to coordinate the rehabilitation of the site, which is a major local tourist attraction.

As part of a new sanitary protocol, authorities have advised visitors to use the pools primarily for relaxation and to avoid swimming, diving, or submerging the head to prevent contaminated water from entering the nasal passages. Health officials clarified that the infection is not transmissible between people.