Advertisement Brain-eating amoeba detected in St. John the Baptist Parish water Naegleria fowleri detected in Water District 1 Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Officials in St. John the Baptist said Naegleria fowleri, a brain-eating amoeba, was found in the parish's water.Watch breaking news reportAccording to St. John the Baptist Parish representative Paige Falgoust, the amoeba was detected in Water District 1. The water system serves 12,577 people in the towns of Reserve, Garyville and Mt. Airy."The water system was sampled as part of DHH's surveillance program that just launched earlier this month. During the ameba testing, DHH discovered the system was not in compliance with the State's emergency rule, which requires water systems to maintain a minimum disinfectant residual level of 0.5 milligrams per liter throughout all of their distribution lines. This 0.5 mg/L level is known to control the Naegleria fowleri ameba," the parish said in a news release.While residents can consume the water, the parish said there is a risk is an amoeba enters the nasal passage.Beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday, the Department of Health and Hospitals will begin a chlorine burn that will last for 60 days.During the chlorine burn, residents may notice a change in the smell and taste of the water, officials said."Families can take simple steps to protect themselves from exposure to this amoeba, the most important being to avoid allowing water to go up your nose while bathing or swimming in a pool," said Louisiana State Health Officer Jimmy Guidry. "It is important to remember that the water is safe to drink; the amoeba cannot infect an individual through the stomach."PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES FOR FAMILIESAccording to the CDC, personal actions to reduce the risk of Naegleria fowleri infection should focus on limiting the amount of water going up a person's nose and lowering the chances that Naegleria fowleri may be in the water. Preventative measures recommended by the CDC include the following:* DO NOT allow water to go up your nose or sniff water into your nose when bathing, showering, washing your face, or swimming in small hard plastic/blow-up pools.* DO NOT jump into or put your head under bathing water (bathtubs, small hard plastic/blow-up pools) - walk or lower yourself in.DO NOT allow children to play unsupervised with hoses or sprinklers, as they may accidentally squirt water up their nose. Avoid slip-n-slides or other activities where it is difficult to prevent water going up the nose.* DO run bath and shower taps and hoses for five minutes before use to flush out the pipes. This is most important the first time you use the tap after the water utility raises the disinfectant level.* DO keep small hard plastic/blow-up pools clean by emptying, scrubbing, and allowing them to dry after each use.* DO use only boiled and cooled, distilled or sterile water for making sinus rinse solutions for neti pots or performing ritual ablutions.* DO keep your swimming pool adequately disinfected before and during use. Adequate disinfection means:* Pools: free chlorine at 1-3 parts per million (ppm) and pH 7.2-7.8, and* Hot tubs/spas: free chlorine 2-4 parts per million (ppm) or free bromine 4-6 ppm and pH 7.2-7.8.* If you need to top off the water in your swimming pool with tap water, place the hose directly into the skimmer box and ensure that the filter is running. Do not top off by placing the hose in the body of the pool.FOR UPDATESFor more information on how to protect yourself and on the current status of testing, visit DHH's Water Facts website at www.dhh.la.gov/WaterFacts.Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news right in your inbox. Click here to sign up!13484466