By Leilani Orozco, Staff Writer
TRAGEDY: A brain-eating amoeba has killed a 6- year old in Lake Jackson, Texas.
Recent news confirms that a brain-eating amoeba called Naegleria Fowleri was found in the Southeast Texas water supply. An advisory against the use of water from cities including Lake Jackson, Freeport, Angleton, Brazoria, Richwood, Oyster Creek, Clute, and Rosenberg, was issued shortly after this amoeba killed a young boy. Six-year-old Josiah McIntyre, a Lake Jackson resident, was hospitalized at the Memorial Hermann Hospital and on September 8th, 2020, he passed away from the infection caused by the amoeba.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claims that Naegleria Fowleri is a free-living microscopic amoeba, which is a single-celled living organism. It can cause a rare and devastating infection of the brain called primary amebic meningoencephalitis. Symptoms start five days after getting infected. This infection causes initial symptoms like headaches, fever, nausea, and vomiting. Later symptoms can include stiff neck, confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance, seizures, and hallucinations. According to the CDC, infection occurs when contaminated water goes up the nose, and people cannot become infected from swallowing contaminated water. This infection is not contagious to other people.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) traced back the infection to two potential places. McIntyre could have been infected from the water from the city’s splash pad or from the hose at his own home. Since both sources have a high probability of getting water up the nose, it remains unclear where the boy was infected. The TCEQ has advised the Lake Jackson residents to avoid activities that could cause water to go up the nose, such as sniffing water up to your nose while bathing or in the shower, submerging your head in bathing water, or playing with hoses and sprinklers. They have also advised residents to boil their water before drinking, as a precaution. The city will purge the water supply and until it is confirmed that the amoeba is no longer present, the city will also shut down its recreational water.
The amoeba flourishes in warm temperatures and is normally found at the bottom of lakes and ponds. Zero to eight cases are seen on average every year. This year, there have been two other fatal cases of infection aside for Isiah McIntyre. The CDC claims that there will be more cases of infection in future years due to climate change.