Public Health and Safety Alert: New Orleans Water Flushed for Brain-Eating Amoeba

Free-living amoebic infections have been on the rise both in and outside of the United States.

Louisiana health officials are using chlorine to kill a brain-eating amoeba lurking in the New Orleans water supply.

The amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, causes a deadly form of meningitis when inhaled through the nose. It has killed at least two children this summer, including a 4-year-old boy from St. Bernard Parish who contracted the infection while playing on as Slip 'N Slide.

"We know that chlorine kills Naegleria fowleri, which is why it was critical that the parish proactively begin flushing its water system with additional chlorine last week," Louisiana Department of Public Health spokesman J.T. Lane said in a statement, adding that the chlorination process would continue for several weeks.

Tests by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the presence of Naegleria in water serving St. Bernard Parish Sept. 12, but how the amoeba infiltrated the water supply remains unclear. Keep reading

The CDC recommends the following safety steps:

Do not allow water to go up your nose or sniff water into your nose when swimming, bathing, showering or washing your face;

Do not jump into pools or put your head under bathing water;

Keep your pool adequately disinfected before and during use;

Run bath taps and hoses for five minutes before use to flush out the pipes;

Avoid Slip 'N Slides, and do not allow children to play unsupervised with hoses or sprinklers;

Keep small plastic and blow-up pools clean, and allow them to dry after each use;

Use only boiled and cooled, distilled or sterile water when using neti pots or performing ritual ablutions.