For the second time in as many years, the good people of Louisiana, New Orleans, are being threatened by a potentially deadly Amoeba, which is known as the “brain-eating” Amoeba. Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) confirmed the presence of Naegleria fowleri Amoeba in the water supply.
The parish is about five miles away from New Orleans, and the Amoeba was specifically found in the St. Bernard Parish’s water supply. It is still not clear what may have caused the contamination of the water system. Until now, only two positive results from the amoeba included a sample of water from an untreated source, and the other, from a water station that may have become contaminated because of ground water. Moreover, the station didn’t follow the recommended levels of chlorine.
The DHH Safe Drinking Water Program team said, “One positive test was at a site at the water treatment plant before the water was treated. The second positive test occurred at 948 Angela Street, which may have been contaminated by ground water due to a leak at the sampling station. Chlorine levels at the site of the positive sample did meet the 0.5 mg/l requirement.”
Back in 2013, a four- year old boy died in St. Bernard Parish after being infected by the amoeba, while playing on a slip-and-slice.
The health department is currently applying extra chlorine in the water to kill this amoeba. Nonetheless, there are four things you can do to protect yourself:
Do not allow water to go through your nose.
Do not immerse your head under bathing water.
Run baths, showers, hoses, etc. ,for five minutes before use to flush out pipes.
Do not let children play with hoses, sprinkles, water slides, etc., to prevent water going through their noses.
St. Bernard Parish’s Tap Water Found Contaminated With Brain Eating Amoeba Naegleria Fowleri: Symptoms And Treatments http://www.techtimes.com/articles/71917/20150726/new-orleans-tap-water-…
Brain Eating Amoeba Found in Louisiana Drinking Water http://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/food-poisoning-watch/brain-eating-amoe…