Josiah, 6, from Texas, died of amoeba in the brain

State of Emergency Announced in Texas City

Of: Niklas Eriksson

Published: October 01, 2020 at 12:41 am

Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of emergency at Lake Jackson.

The city’s water contains deadly amoebas.

And it cost six-year-old Josiah McIntyre his life.

Residents of the city of Lake Jackson in Texas can no longer use their drinking water. Multiple water samples have contained the Naegleria Fowleri amoeba and Governor Greg Abbott has declared a state of emergency in the area to provide potable water to the approximately 27,000 residents, writes the Washington Post.

The amoeba makes people sick through contaminated water and it is mainly healthy young people who are affected, according to the Swedish Public Health Agency.

Photo: PRIVADO / TT

Six-year-old Josiah McIntyre from Lake Jackson was brainwashed with drinking water and died.

“The warm and stagnant water of the lake represents the greatest risk, but there have also been cases of illness after swimming in hot springs, spas or poorly maintained pools,” the authority writes.

Naegleria Fowleri can invade the brain and cause encephalitis or meningitis. Most of those affected die within ten days.

Josiah McIntyre, six, of Lake Jackson, was affected by just that.

The boy fell ill in early September and died on the eighth.

When it turned out that he was affected by Naegleria Fowleri’s prayer he loved, he began sampling the water in the area. The family’s water hose and a drinking fountain in a park where the boy played turned out to be two of several places on Lake Jackson where the amoeba was found.

“The state of Texas is taking swift action to resolve the situation and provide support to the communities whose water sources have been affected by this amoeba,” Greg Abbott was quoted as saying by the Washington Post.

– I urge all residents of Lake Jackson in Texas to follow the advice of local authorities and take the necessary steps to protect their health as we work to restore clean water.

Josiah’s mother, María Castillo, tells the local ABC channel that it is a comfort to know that the authorities took the problem seriously after the death of her son.

-I know it doesn’t make us recover it, but the fact that we now know how it affected him, how he got sick, gives us a certain peace, says María Castillo.

Published: October 01, 2020 at 12:41 am