Flushing and Disinfecting Texas Area Water Supply of Brain-Destroying Amoebas

Naegleria fowleri

"The state of Texas is taking swift action to respond to the situation and support the communities whose water systems have been impacted by this amoeba."

"I urge Texans in Lake Jackson to follow the guidance of local officials and take the appropriate precautions to protect their health and safety as we work to restore safe tap water in the community."

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Brazoria County disaster declaration 

"During this period of disinfection and flushing boiling the tap water makes it safe for drinking and cooking."

"Naegleria fowleri is a type of amoeba that can be managed using standard treatment and disinfection processes."

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality advisory

 

"The path forward for the citizens of Lake Jackson is not going to be one that's short."

"We have to get through the boil water first, which could take two to three weeks, after that we have to get chlorine levels to a state that can burn the entire system, scour the system, and kill the amoebas."

"That could take up to an additional 60 days." 

Toby Baker, executive director, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality 

It takes a tragedy, a death of one small boy to alert a community that something is dreadfully wrong with their potable water supply, the most fundamental of services to any community. One might assume that regular water quality tests are carried out constantly to alert authorities of the presence of deadly bacteria that could have an unwanted and horrible effect on the people dependent on the safety of their municipal water supply.

 

Josiah McIntyre.  (Courtesy of Maria Castillo via AP)

But the discovery that something was dreadfully awry with the water purity of people living in Lake Jackson, Texas was brought to the attention of the water treatment arm of the local government by the death of a small boy. Six-year-old Josiah McIntyre, a resident of Lake Jackson, contracted the deadly microbe and it killed him. Leading local authorities and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to test the local water, with preliminary results affirming three in 11 samples testing positive for the presence of Naegleria fowleri.

 

This is an amoeba that destroys brain tissue, leading to swelling of the brain, known as amoebic meningoencephalitis. The amoeba is frequently discovered within warm lakes, rivers and hot springs. The mode of infection sees the nose as the portal allowing the pathogen to enter the body and reach the brain where it destroys tissue, causes brain swelling, and ultimately death.

One of the samples tested was from a hose spigot at the boy's home. "The notification to us at that time was that he had played at one of [the] play fountains and he may have also played with a water hose at the home", explained Lake Jackson City Manager Modesto Mundo. A 'do-not-use' advisory was issued on Friday night by the Brazosport Water Authority, for eight communities, following confirmation of the presence of the amoeba.

People were urged to avoid having water reaching and inhaled by the nose when bathing, showering or swimming, and prohibited children from playing with water hoses, sprinklers or any device capable of squirting water up the nose. The community residents were advised to run bath and shower taps and hoses for several minutes initial to use. Tap water was to be boiled prior to drinking it.

City workers test water flowing out of a hydrants.  (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

City workers were tasked with converting the disinfectant from chloramine to free chlorine in the distribution system; a practice called "chlorine burn", useful in inactivating certain types of bacteria whose presence can make it difficult to maintain a disinfectant residual. City officials distributed water boxes to the population of 27,000 at a temporary distribution centre.

Initial symptoms of the dread disease include headache, fever, vomiting, loss of balance and hallucinations, which can lead to death within a five-day span. Infections, while rare, can be devastating since this is a fatal microbe. In the United States since 1962, 145 infections were reported, out of which a mere four people survived, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.