The Tap Water in Terrebonne Parish and Ouachita Parish in Louisiana is infected with brain-eating amoeba and health officials warn residents in the area about this finding.
The tap Water Systems infected with the brain-eating amoeba were identified as Schriever Water System and North Monroe Water System. Health officials said the scientific name of the amoeba is "Naegleria fowleri," which belongs to the Naegleria family that is commonly found in warm freshwaters such as rivers, lakes, hot springs and so on. Naegleria fowleri is the only type of this amoeba that infects people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
What steps are health officials taking to remove amoeba from the system?
The health department in Louisiana ordered the officials at the affected water systems to convert their current disinfection method to the free chlorine method for at least two months in order to eliminate the brain-eating amoeba. With the chlorine method in place, the amoeba will be killed via chlorine burn. The water systems will advise residents once the amoeba is eliminated.
People are also advised not to leave small children unattended with hoses or sprinklers as they might get the idea of putting the end of the hose up their noses. Residents should also run the shower taps and hoses for five minutes before going in.
This will flush out the pipes and prevent contact with the amoeba.
Every summer, the health department samples public drinking water systems to see if it is contaminated. One of the water systems where the amoeba was found thriving, Schriever Water System, already tested positive for the brain-eating amoeba two years ago.
How does a person get infected with the brain-eating amoeba?
Naegleria fowleri infects people once the amoeba enters the body of a person through the nasal passages. People usually get infected when they swim or dive in the aforementioned bodies of water.
The amoeba will travel up from the nose to the brain and that is how the tissues get destroyed.
Although the water is contaminated, health officials in Louisiana said the water from the system is still safe to drink, CBS News reported. One cannot get infected through drinking.
The symptoms that one can suffer from if he or she is infected with the brain-eating amoeba are fever, headache, and nausea. Sometimes, if the condition worsens, one may also suffer from hallucinations and seizures.
