Parents sue waterpark where daughter caught deadly brain-eating amoeba

June 21 (UPI) -- The parents of an 18-year-old woman who died from a brain-eating amoeba are suing the North Carolina waterpark where she got infected.

Lauren Seitz died on June 19, 2016, after she became infected with Naegleria fowleri, a rare parasite found in warm freshwater that causes death by destroying brain tissue and causing brain swelling, during a trip to the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C.

In the lawsuit filed Monday, Seitz's parents contend that the waterpark showed "a conscious disregard for the safety of its visitors, including Lauren" by not properly chlorinating the water or training its employees how to properly regulate the facility, CNN reported.

Water tests conducted after Seitz's death confirmed the presence of Naegleria fowleri.

"Lauren and other visitors had a higher likelihood of encountering Naegleria fowleri in the unregulated waters of the U.S. National Whitewater Center than they did by simply rafting in the nearby Catawba River," the lawsuit says.

Representatives for the waterpark have not publicly commented on the lawsuit.

The Charlotte Observer reported the waterpark has defended itself by saying that Naegleria fowleri is a naturally ocurring parasite in warm freshwater.

But attorneys for Seitz's parents said a "combination of high levels of N. fowleri and likelihood of submersion and exposure to high-velocity water results in a risk of infection that is likely higher than the risk of infection from exposure to N. fowleri in the natural environment."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that between 2005 and 2014, 35 people became infected with the parasite and all but two died.

The U.S. National Whitewater Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and brings in more than $18 million in revenue per year.

The waterpark closed for two months after Seitz's death but has since reopened.