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 a 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 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.
