Occupy Corporatism
by Susanne Posel
Testing of city water in a Louisiana parish has turned up the brain-eating amoeba called Naegleria fowleri .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have confirmed that NF is present in St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana which is connected to the death of a 4 year old boy who contracted the amoeba.
The infection caused by the NF is called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).
According to the CDC, in 2007, PAM claimed :
• 14 year old boy in Arizona
• 14 & 11 year old boy in Florida
• 12 year old boy in Texas
JT Lane, assistant secretary for the department of public health (DPH) in Louisiana commented : “We know that chlorine kills Naegleria fowleri, which is why it was critical that the parish proactively began flushing its water system with additional chlorine last week. The parish will continue this action until it raises chlorine residuals to recommended levels, and this process will continue for several weeks. DHH is working with parish officials to provide assistance and support to the parish’s staff to ensure that chlorine levels are being monitored daily.”
Raoult Ratard, epidemiologist for Louisiana State University (LSU) said : “This is the first time that it has been found in the drinking water in the United States. Five years ago, we would never have known that this recent case was caused by the amoeba.”
Ratard warned: “If you take a bath, do not put your head under the water completely. To take a shower, it is no problem. If you take a shower and you put the shower head right up your nose, that’s not a good idea — but nobody does that. We’re going to see more cases; maybe we’ll go to 10 a year. I don’t expect we’ll have a hundred.”
Amebic encephalitis , a.k.a. granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE), is ‘an extremely rare disease occurring in immunocompromised patients.”
GAE can manifest in multiple medical situations, including:
• Focal paralysis
• Seizures
• Brainstem issues
• Giloma-like neurological issues
• Inflammatory necrosis of brain tissue
Jimmy Guidry, officer for the DHH in Louisiana explained: “While the water is safe to drink, there is a risk if the amoeba enters the nose. There are basic precautions that families can take — such as chlorinating their pools and avoiding getting water in their noses — to protect themselves, though infection from this amoeba is very rare.”
Guidry said: We know that chlorine kills Naegleria fowleri, which is why it was critical that the parish proactively began flushing its water system with additional chlorine last week. DHH is working with parish officials to provide assistance and support to the parish’s staff to ensure that chlorine levels are being monitored daily.”