Officials warn of ‘brain-eating amoeba’ in Texas city water supply
Officials with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality have issued a “do not use water advisory" for people in Lake Jackson over brain-eating amoeba called naegleria fowleri.
KTRK in Houston reported that the advisory, which went out on Friday, initially impacted customers of Brazosport Water Authority in multiple towns out of an abundance of caution.
Authorities were able to narrow down the issue to Lake Jackson, and the other cities were removed from the advisory, KHOU 11 in Houston reported.
TCEQ said those who use private wells that are not physically connected to the public water supply are exempt from the advisory.
According to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the brain-eating amoeba is “commonly found in warm freshwater (e.g. lakes, rivers, and hot springs) and soil.” It typically infects people when water contaminated with it enters through the nose. You can’t get infected from swallowing water contaminated with brain-eating amoeba.
Once in the nose, the amoeba travels to the brain, where it can cause the rare and usually deadly brain infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis, or PAM.
From 2009 to 2018, there have been only 34 infections reported in the U.S.
About the Author
Kelcie Willis is a writer and online content producer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Sociology from the University of Georgia. At the AJC, she covers state, regional and national news with the Content Curation Desk.
