Brain amoeba found in tests of water supply where boy died in Louisiana
By David Simpson, CNN
updated 10:56 AM EDT, Fri September 13, 2013
(CNN) -- Tests of a Louisiana parish's water supply confirmed the presence of a rare brain-eating amoeba blamed for last month's death of a 4-year-old boy.
The state's Department of Health & Hospitals said Thursday that tests conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found Naegleria fowleri in St. Bernard Parish water.
The water is safe to drink, state officials said, although they cautioned against getting water in the nose.
Naegleria fowleri is found in hot springs and warm fresh water, most often in the Southeastern United States. The amoeba enters the body through the nose and travels to the brain. There is no danger of infection from drinking or cooking with contaminated water, the CDC said. Infected patients are diagnosed with primary amoebic meningoencephalitis.
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The parish water supply came under suspicion because its chlorine levels were low. Chlorine kills the amoeba, said Assistant Health Secretary J.T. Lane.
Naegleria fowleri associated with disinfected public drinking water has caused deaths in only one other case in the United States, according to the CDC. The water came from an untreated, geothermal well-supplied drinking water system in Arizona; two children died there in 2003.
Lane said the Louisiana parish, along the Gulf Coast southeast of New Orleans, began flushing water lines with chlorine last week, a process that will continue for weeks until chlorine levels reach recommended levels.
A Mississippi boy who had played on a water slide made out of a long sheet of plastic while visiting St. Bernard Parish contracted amoebic meningoencephalitis and died last month. Tests at the home where he was playing found the Naegleria fowleri amoeba.
Officials said less than 1% of patients survive the deadly brain infection caused by this amoeba. But an experimental drug from the CDC has shown promise in fighting it. Kali Hardig, a 12-year-old in Arkansas, survived after contracting the amoeba in July, possibly at a Little Rock, Arkansas, water park.
Doctors credited Kali's mom, Traci Hardig, with her survival, saying she brought her daughter to the hospital early and pushed for more tests.
"If you believe that there's something more wrong with your daughter or your son than a simple virus or stomach flu, stay in there, hang in there," Hardig told CNN. "Talk to the doctor ... and reassure them that this is not a normal illness."
The first symptoms of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis appear one to seven days after infection, including headache, fever, nausea, vomiting and a stiff neck, according to the CDC.
"Later symptoms include confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance, seizures and hallucinations," the government agency's website says. "After the start of symptoms, the disease progresses rapidly and usually causes death within one to 12 days."
Here are some tips from the CDC to help lower the risk of infection:
• Avoid swimming in fresh water when the water temperature is high and the water level is low.
• Hold your nose shut or use nose clips while swimming.
• Avoid stirring up the sediment while wading in shallow, warm freshwater areas.
• If you are irrigating, flushing or rinsing your sinuses (for example, by using a neti pot), use water that has been distilled or sterilized.
For more safety tips, visit CDC.gov.
"He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself."
Thomas Paine
"For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten."
Ecclesiastes 9:5 (KJV)
It's more commonly known here in Australia; I'd be surprised if there was a single child who hadn't been warned about the danger of swimming in dams during warm weather. And while it is certainly deadly, this is at least partly because the early symptoms are sufficiently generic that treatment often isn't sought until its too late.
Tests of a Louisiana parish's water supply confirmed the presence of a rare brain-eating amoeba blamed for last month's death of a 4-year-old boy.
It's actually very common in soil and in warm water, it just isn't normally in a position to infect anyone.
Lane said the Louisiana parish, along the Gulf Coast southeast of New Orleans, began flushing water lines with chlorine last week, a process that will continue for weeks until chlorine levels reach recommended levels.
It is good to hear that this was recognised as a genuine problem that needed to be solved, without any anti-chlorination stupidity.
The southern United States has a love / hate with science and medicine.
"He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself."
Thomas Paine
"For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten."
Ecclesiastes 9:5 (KJV)
Kitsune wrote:The southern United States has a love / hate with science and medicine.
No kidding. In 1915 the Surgeon General of the US assigned a doctor to study Pellagra in the South because it had reached epidemic proportions. The doctor was able to identify that Pellagra was a dietary problem and that changing the diet was sufficient to help most people.
How did the south react? They treated it like an attack on their culture and refused the dietary advice. So people kept suffering and dying.
"If the facts are on your side, pound on the facts. If the law is on your side, pound on the law. If neither is on your side, pound on the table."
"The captain claimed our people violated a 4,000 year old treaty forbidding us to develop hyperspace technology. Extermination of our planet was the consequence. The subject did not survive interrogation."
I think certain things can be argued
Even if the risk is low, if a Neti pot actually helps you then make damn sure you sterilize the water before using it.
Also, know the risks when you swim in warm waters
"He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself."
Thomas Paine
"For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten."
Ecclesiastes 9:5 (KJV)
Amoeba's eating people's brains explains a lot about Louisiana politics.
Just sayin'...
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Kitsune wrote:I think certain things can be argued
Even if the risk is low, if a Neti pot actually helps you then make damn sure you sterilize the water before using it.
Also, know the risks when you swim in warm waters
I actually hadn't thought about neti pot use!
Just wanted to jump in and say that was a nice bit of advice. I use it time to time because my sinuses are, and always have been, in terrible shape. The extra fluid helps reduce my allergies and keep everything feeling a lot better, but I hadn't thought about water-borne contaminants and risks. I should get some clean bottled water and leave it in the bathroom for when I use the thing.
