[StBernard] St. Bernard first in country to have rare amoeba in treated municipal water

[Westley Annis]

Times-Picayune article updating St. Bernard water issues:

St. Bernard first in country to have rare amoeba in treated municipal water

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St. Bernard Parish this week became the first municipality in the United
States to have its treated water system test positive for a rare
brain-eating amoeba, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.

In 2011, St. Bernard was the first municipality in which treated home water
pipes tested positive for the Naegleria fowleri amoeba. In that case, tests
showed that the parish water system did not itself carry the pathogen.

Both instances were uncovered after deaths from primary amebic
meningoencephalitis - commonly known as PAM - which is an infection caused
by the amoeba entering the nose that leads to the destruction of brain
tissue. 

St. Bernard Parish school superintendents, government officials and
residents took precautionary measures Thursday and Friday even as CDC and
Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals officials assured residents
that the water is safe to drink. 

People can't contract the infection by drinking contaminated water, because
stomach acid will kill the amoeba, health officials say. Naegleria fowleri
infects people by entering the body through the nose.

. Click here for full story and pictures: http://bit.ly/17VVXsL