The governor of Texas has declared a disaster after a six-year-old kid died after becoming infected with a brain-eating amoeba detected in the community’s water supply.
A catastrophe has been declared in a Texas community after a brain-eating amoeba was detected in the local water supply and was confirmed as the cause of the death of a six-year-old kid.
Naegleria fowleri is present all over the world, and the majority of illnesses in the United States are caused by swimming or diving in bodies of polluted freshwater in southern states, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Because the organism prefers heat, these infections are more common in southern areas, particularly during the summer months. It is also thought that climate change and rising temperatures are contributing to an increase in the number of cases of the virus.
On September 8, the small kid, Josiah McIntyre, died after playing in the water in Lake Jackson.
The boy’s family suspects the amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, entered his body through a splash pad in the city or through a hose in his home.
If the amoeba enters the body through the nose, it is lethal, killing 90 to 95 percent of those afflicted. One cannot become sick by drinking polluted water.
On September 8, a six-year-old kid, Josiah McIntyre, died after playing in water near his home.
The kid is said to have come into touch with water at a splash pad or from a hose.
Except for Lake Jackson, eight regions were told not to use the water on Friday; on Saturday, they were all permitted to consume it.
People cannot become sick by drinking polluted water, and the virus cannot be spread from person to person, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The illness causes nausea, fever, and vomiting, as well as headaches and stiff neck. People usually die within a week.
Such infections are uncommon in the United States, where 34 people died between 2009 and 2018.
Modesto Mundo, the city manager, stated:
“At the time, we were informed that he had played at one of the play fountains and may have also played with a water hose at home.”
He went on to say that immediately after the boy’s death, the community of 27,000 residents, located 50 miles south of Houston on the Gulf of Mexico, shut down the splash pad.
TCEQ inspectors collected water samples from several locations across Lake Jackson.
This photomicrograph of a brain tissue specimen shows the cytoarchitectural alterations associated with a free-living amebic infection, which might be caused by Naegleria fowleri or Acanthamoeba sp.
As a result, residents in Lake Jackson, Freeport, Angleton, Brazoria, Richwood, Oyster Creek, Clute, and Rosenberg were told not to drink the water.
Furthermore, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice dispatched water tanker trucks to two prisons, TDCJ Clemens and TDCJ Wayne Scott, to provide shower water. After Mundo stated that the problem appeared to be isolated, residents of seven villages in the vicinity were urged to re-use the water.
Nonetheless, Lake Jackson was still under a ‘Do Not Use’ order.
He also stated that the system is currently being examined for chlorine residual by TCEQ, which will consider adding a high dosage of chlorine to the system for around 60 days.
Source: www.livescience.com
