Advertisement State Police investigating water quality records in St. John the Baptist Parish Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Louisiana State Police confirmed Tuesday that troopers are investigating water quality records in St. John the Baptist Parish after it was discovered Naegleria fowleri, a brain-eating amoeba, was detected in the water supply.Last week, parish leaders announced that the amoeba was detected in Water District 1. That particular water system serves 12,577 people in the towns of Reserve, Garyville and Mount Airy.While parish leaders said residents can consume the water, the parish said there is a risk is an amoeba enters the nasal passage.Last week, the Department of Health and Hospitals began a chlorine burn that will last for 60 days.Stay with WDSU.com for more information as it develops.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!Related:Chlorine burn begins in St. John Parish after brain-eating amoeba detected in waterBrain-eating amoeba detected in St. John the Baptist Parish water