Residents of Lake Jackson, Texas have been warned about using tap water after a deadly brain-eating microbe was found in the city’s public water supply.
According to Houston-area officials, it will take sixty days to ensure a city drinking water system is purged of a deadly, microscopic parasite that doctors believed killed a 6-year-old boy, which led to warnings for others not to drink tap water.
Lake Jackson City Manager Modesto Mundo said that three of eleven samples of the city’s water indicated preliminary positive results for the naegleria fowleri microbe. Mundo said residents are advised to boil their tap water before using it.
Mundo said one sample came from the home of Josiah McIntyre, the boy whom doctors said died earlier this month after being infected with the brain-eating parasite.
Naegleria fowleri is a single-celled living organism commonly found in warm freshwater and soil, according to the C.D.C. It usually infects people when contaminated water enters the body through the nose. It then travels to the brain and can cause a rare and debilitating disease called primary amebic meningoencephalitis.
Josiah’s devasted mother, Maria Castillo, said that her son first started showing flu-like symptoms, which quickly worsened to the point where he had difficulty standing and communicating. She added:
“We found out that it was, most likely this amoeba that was causing all of these symptoms.”
Doctors took measures to relieve swelling in Josiah’s brain but weren’t able to save him. It’s been difficult for his mother to come to terms with the death of her child, who was so full of life. Castillo said:
“Josiah loved to be outside and he loved to be with his sister and his cousin. He was a lovable little boy and loved everybody he was around.”
RELATED STORY:
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has advised the community to flush out its water distribution networks with chlorine to help eradicate the microbe, Mundo said.
The Brazosport Water Authority initially warned eight communities not to use tap water for any reason except to flush toilets, but it lifted that warning for all communities but Lake Jackson, where the authority’s water treatment plant is situated.
The advisory was finally lifted for Lake Jackson, but the TCEQ has advised its more than 27,000 residents to boil any tap water before using. The authority’s water source is the Brazos River, and it stores the water in two reservoirs.
