'Brain-eating' amoeba found in two Louisiana drinking water systems

A section of the brain from a PAM patient stained with hemotoxylin and eosin showing a large cluster of Naegleria fowleri trophozoites surrounding capillaries. (CDC photo)

A section of the brain from a PAM patient stained with hemotoxylin and eosin showing a large cluster of Naegleria fowleri trophozoites surrounding capillaries. (CDC photo)

Two local water systems in Louisiana were found to have traces of a brain-eating amoeba, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.

The systems in Terrebonne Parish's Schriever Water system and the Ouachita Parish's North Monroe Water System both tested positive for Naegleria fowleri, a naturally occurring freshwater amoeba, according to Tech Times.

You cannot be infected by drinking water that has the amoeba in it. Naegleria fowleri enters the body through the nose and then makes its way to the brain.

The mortality rate is extremely high. Ninety-eight percent of those infected will die if the amoeba enters the brain.