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Texas officials warned thousands of residents of a city in the state about using tap water after a deadly brain-eating microbe was found in the water supply.
Tests were conducted on the system and confirmed the presence of Naegleria fowleri in Lake Jackson after a six-year-old boy contracted the microbe and died earlier this month, the city manager told reporters on Saturday, Modest World.
Authorities believe the amoeba entered Josiah McIntyre’s body at a water park in the city, or from a hose at the family home.
Until the water supply has been disinfected and tests show that it is safe to use again, city residents have been told to boil tap water before drinking it and using it for cooking.
They have also been advised to take other steps, including making sure water doesn’t get into their noses while bathing, showering, or washing their face.
Families were also warned not to allow children to play with hoses, sprinklers, or any toys or devices that could accidentally squirt water up their nose.
Eight communities had been initially warned on Friday not to use tap water for any reason except to flush toilets, while authorities distributed bottles of water to households.
Authorities lifted that warning Saturday, but the boiling water advice remains in effect for Lake Jackson’s more than 27,000 residents.
Josiah’s mother, Maria Castillo, said her son died at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston on Sept. 8 and was told by doctors that the cause was the brain-eating amoeba, NBC News reported.
She said her son was “super active” and “loved being outdoors and he loved playing baseball.”
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Naegleria fowleri is commonly found in warm fresh water and in soil, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It generally infects people when contaminated water enters the body through of the nose.
From there, it travels to the brain and can cause a rare and debilitating disease called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. The infection is usually fatal.
Contamination of public water systems in the US by the microbe is rare but not unheard of.
The first deaths from the microbe after it was found in tap water occurred in southern Louisiana in 2011 and 2013, according to the CDC website.
