Brain-eating Amoeba in Drinking Water
Sounds like something right out of a B horror movie, doesn’t it? Just imagine the Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals issuing a warning to residents to be aware of Naegleria fowleri, the brain-eating Amoeba, in drinking water. Incredibly, residents in Louisiana don’t have to imagine, because that is exactly what happened on 12/6/2011. A notice was posted on Louisiana’s Department of Health & Hospitals’ website , warning residents that the brain-eating Amoeba had already claimed the lives of two people, due to using heated tap water in Neti pots (a device, which resembles a small teapot, used to flush nasal passages).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, located in Georgia, Naegleria fowleri is actually a parasite that lives in warm fresh water (ponds, lakes). People can be infected by the parasite when it enters the body through the nose. Jumping into a warm pond where the parasite lives and having water go up through your nose, can expose you to this parasite. The parasite does not actually eat your brain, but it does cause an infection that destroys brain tissue. Early symptoms are similar to those of bacterial meningitis. The parasite has also been found in swimming pools that were not properly chlorinated or maintained, as well as tap water heated to less 116.6 degrees F. Once infected, the disease progresses rapidly and the outcome is almost always fatal. However, Naegleria fowleri infections are extremely rare. In the United States, only 32 infections were reported over the 10 years from 2001 to 2010.
When a plumber, who is charged with Protecting the Health of the Nation, reads about the brain-eating Ameba in heated tap water of less than 116.6 degrees F, they are reminded of another threat that lurks in warm water and enters the body through the nose. The bacteria known as Legionella causes Legionnaires’ disease, when it is inhaled through the nose in a mist, like you might encounter in a shower. Unlike the rare infections caused by brain-eating Amoebas, infections from Legionella are more common. Each year in the United States, it is estimated that 8,000 – 18,000 people are hospitalized with Legionnaires Disease. The numbers could be much higher, since many cases are not diagnosed and/or not reported.
Let’s face it, living is a risk. As the saying goes, no one gets out alive. However, as your professional plumber in Myrtle Beach, we are charged with making sure drinking water is safe and to minimize risk when we can. Your water heater temperature should not be set below 120 degrees. Legionella bacteria multiply in water temperatures between 77 – 113 degrees F. Though they stop multiplying between 118 – 122 degrees F, they do survive and do pose a threat.
When leaving your home, or vacation home, for an extended period of time, Fogarty & Fogarty Plumbing Co., recommends that you consider draining down your water heater until you return. If you live in Murrells Inlet, Pawleys Island, Surfside Beach, Garden City, Litchfield Beach, Carolina Forest, Conway, Horry County or Georgetown County, we can take care of this for you.
The Plumber Who Cares!
