Bossier City water tests positive for brain-eating amoeba, health official says

Shreveport Times

Bossier City water has tested positive for a brain-eating amoeba, a state health official said Wednesday.

Bob Johannessen, communications director of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, said the state conducted tests of city water from one of five samples taken in several spots on Oct. 2.

This is brain tissue that has been attacked by naegleria fowleri, also called "the brain-eating amoeba."

The positive test site was 5370 Bluebell Drive, according to a letter sent by the state's health department to Bossier City Mayor Lorenz Walker.

The city must submit chlorine residual reports for all sites and storage tanks to the Office of Public Health's Shreveport location weekly, according to the letter.

The Sligo Water System, which serves portions of southern Bossier Parish, tested positive for the amoeba in late September.

Bossier City officials said a chlorine flush of the entire city's water system is now underway. It was originally scheduled for the beginning of 2019 as a part of the city's routine maintenance. The flush, which will last 60 days, is meant to eliminate the amoeba.

Earlier this week, the city said the flush would begin Oct. 15 but the positive test results made the city begin the chlorine flush sooner.

Portions of the city's southern water system were flushed earlier this month after Sligo Water System tested positive for the amoeba but it's unclear if chlorine was added to the water at that time, said Traci Landry, spokeswoman for Bossier City.

Ken Ward, president for the CBB Water System in Benton, said in a statement Wednesday that CBB had been ordered by DHH to conduct a chlorine "flush" because Bossier City provides CBB with treated water for its distribution. A chlorine flush is sometimes referred to as a "burn."

CBB provides water to residents around the lakes by Cypress and Black Bayou in Bossier Parish.

Country Place Subdivision and the town of Benton will also undergo a chlorine flush, state health officials said.

“This amoeba has not been found in the CBB water system, and this is just a precautionary measure,” Ward with the CBB said. “This burn will last for 60 days, at which time our customers will experience strong smell and taste of chlorine.”

CBB’s water is safe to use and drink, he said.

Naegleria fowleri, also known as the brain-eating amoeba, causes a rare and often fatal central nervous system disease called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).

The amoeba is commonly found in warm freshwater and soil in southern states. The amoeba usually infects people after contaminated water enters the body through the nose. You will not get infected by drinking the water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Bossier City water tests positive for brain-eating amoeba, health official says

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