Brain-eating amoeba found in tests of water supply where boy died in Louisiana

(CNN) -- Tests of a Louisiana parish's water
supply confirmed the presence of a rare
amoeba blamed for last month's death of a
12-year-old boy.
The state's Department of Health &
Hospitals said Thursday the Naegleria
fowleri amoeba , which causes a generally
fatal brain infection, was found in tests of
St. Bernard Parish water conducted by the
federal Centers for Disease Control.
The water is safe to drink, state officials
said, although they continued to caution
against getting water in the nose, the route
the amoeba takes.
The parish water supply came under
suspicion because its chlorine levels were
low. Chlorine kills the amoeba, said state
Assistant Health Secretary J.T. Lane.
Lane said the parish, along the
Gulf Coast southeast of New
Orleans, began flushing water
lines with chlorine last week, a
process that will continue for
several weeks until chlorine
levels reach recommended
levels.
A Mississippi boy who had
played on water slide made
out of a long sheet of plastic
while visiting St. Bernard
Parish contracted amoebic
meningoencephalitis and died
last month. Tests at the home
where he was playing found
the Naegleria fowleri amoeba.
Officials say less than 1% of patients
survive the infection. But 12-year-old Kali
Hardig survived after contracting the
amoeba in July, possibly at a Little Rock,
Arkansas, water park.