Forget COVID- There’s a ‘Brain Eating Microbe’ in the Water!

Residents of Lake Jackson, Texas, in the USA, have been warned about using tap water after a deadly brain-eating microbe was found in the city’s public water supply.

Tests confirmed the presence of ‘Naegleria fowleri’ in the system, an amoeba that can cause an infection of the brain, which is usually fatal. Infections are rare in the US though, with just 34 cases reported between 2009 and 2018.

Officials in Lake Jackson said they were disinfecting the water supply but did not know how long this would take. Eight Texas communities were originally told on Friday night not to use their water supply for any reason except to flush their toilets. The warning was lifted on Saturday for everywhere except for Lake Jackson, a city with a population of more than 27,000 residents.

Authorities in Lake Jackson later said that people could begin using the water, but must boil it before drinking it. Residents were also told to take other measures, including not allowing water to go up into their noses while showering or taking a bath. Children, elderly people, and people with weakened immune systems were “particularly vulnerable”, said a health professional.

Boy Dies after contracting microbe

Officials said they were flushing the water system, and would then carry out tests to ensure the water was safe to use. An investigation into the city’s water supply began after a six-year-old boy contracted the microbe and sadly died earlier this month.

Travels through the nose

Naegleria fowleri occurs naturally in freshwater and is found around the world. It usually infects people when contaminated water enters the body through the nose and then travels to the brain.

Those infected with Naegleria fowleri have symptoms including fever, nausea and vomiting, as well as a stiff neck and headaches, unfortunately, most die within a week. An infection was previously confirmed in the US state of Florida earlier this year. At the time, health officials there urged locals to avoid nasal contact with water from taps and other sources.

Not everybody dies of the disease however.  In 2018, a 10-year-old girl from Toledo survived the first *Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM) caused by Naegleria fowleri in Spain.

*Naegleria fowleri (commonly referred to as the “brain-eating amoeba” or “brain-eating ameba”), is a free-living microscopic ameba, ( single-celled living organism). It can cause a rare and devastating infection of the brain called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).

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