Water in one part of Terrebonne Parish tested positive for brain-eating amoeba over the weekend.
According to Consolidated Waterworks District No. 1, tests for naegleria fowleri returned positive for the Pointe-aux-Chenes area. The affected area does not include Island Road.
Residents are asked to follow the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Waterworks website and Facebook page for updates.
The water district says it has contacted the Louisiana Department of Health and has switched disinfection procedures from chloramine to free chlorine.
According to the Center for Disease Control, naegleria fowleri infects people when the ameba enters the body through the nose. People cannot get infected from drinking water contaminated with the amoeba.
The CDC says infection is rare and typically occurs when people go swimming in warm freshwater. Rarely, infections have been reported when people submerge their heads or clean their noses with tap or faucet water.
The CDC lists the following guidelines to prevent naegleria infection from tap water:
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 5 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
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,
DO 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.
