Brain-eating amoeba found in Louisiana drinking water. Even though it was treated.
Last edited Sun Jul 26, 2015, 08:22 PM - Edit history (3)
The water is safe to drink but not to go into the nose.
The health department hasn't warned C-PAP users, and the amoeba shouldn't be a problem with properly-working machines . . . but I'd make sure to use the recommended distilled water if I were living in an area with this problem. Just to be on the safe side . . .
http://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/food-poisoning-watch/brain-eating-amoeba-found-in-louisiana-drinking-water/#.VbVUbHi4mgw
Late Wednesday, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) confirmed the presence of the Naegleria fowleri amoeba in the St. Bernard Parish Water System at the site of a leaking sampling station. The water system, which serves 44,000 residents in St. Bernard Parish, was tested by DHH as part of the State’s new public drinking water surveillance program. DHH notified the water system and local officials Wednesday evening. The Department asked the water system to conduct a 60-day chlorine burn to ensure that any remaining amoeba in the system are eliminated. Parish President Dave Peralta confirmed that the system would conduct the burn out of an abundance of caution.
Based on current monthly chloramine residual compliance reports, the water system has met the requirements with Louisiana rules for chloramine disinfectant levels set forth by the 2013 by emergency rule and additional requirements in 2014 by the Louisiana Legislature. Five other sites on the system tested negative for the amoeba and one site did not meet the required level of disinfectant.
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Precautionary Measures for Families:
According to the CDC, every resident can take simple steps to help reduce their risk of Naegleria fowleri infection. Individuals should focus on limiting the amount of water going up their nose. 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:
Residents should continue these precautions until testing no longer confirms the presence of the amoeba in the water system. Residents will be made aware when that occurs. For further information on preventative measures, please visit the CDC website here: http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/naegleria/prevention.html.
http://www.everydayhealth.com/cold-and-flu/1219/brain-eating-amoeba-and-your-cpap-mask-should-you-worry.aspx
For people who use neti pots to help clear out their sinuses, recent news of deaths linked to contaminated tap water in the sinus-irrigating devices and subsequent warnings from Louisiana health officials may spark some alarm. But what about those who use other water-containing devices, such as a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mask for sleep apnea? Is the risk the same?
William Schaffner, MD, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., says no.
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Unlike neti pots, you don’t introduce the water from a CPAP directly into your nose and near your sinuses. If your mask has a humidifier, the water stays in a separate chamber, adding moisture to the air you breathe from the tube. Though there’s no physical contact between the water in the humidifier and the area up and around your sinuses, Schaffner advises taking the same precautions as one would with a neti pot. Read the instructions, wash your hands first, and rinse, clean, and dry your mask and the water chamber immediately after use to avoid standing water. For extra protection, use distilled or sterile water, or boil your tap water.
“At least to the moment there seem to be no reported cases of this infection with any other devices, which is always reassuring,” says Schaffner, but taking proper precaution will make it even more unlikely that you’ll experience this unlikely complication.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Brain-eating amoebas. That's our drinking water, its still warm when it comes from the tap, very warm 
Only real.
Their brains must have been eaten by amoebas. That's how come they act as they do. 
