Deadly Amoeba Threatens Tucson's Water Wells

This Friday, October 5, Bay News Nine reported a story based in Tucson, Arizona titled "Amoeba Doesn't Pose Health Risks". The information Bay News Nine received for this report was courtesy of the Arizona Daily Star. The title "Amoeba Doesn't Pose Health Risk" is supposed to mean that the amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, will not harm the people of Tucson, Arizona anymore. Naegleria is an amoeba that has killed 23 people between 1995 and 2004 in the United States, including two people in Tucson, Arizona. Naegleria is only contracted by snorting the water it contaminates up your nose. If you drink water contaminated by Naegleria you will not be infected. Once a person has snorted water that contains Naegleria, the amoeba goes up their nose and to their brain where it feeds until the victim dies. Naegleria is normally located on top of the water found in lakes and rivers. It can also be found in other bodies of water that have a warm temperature, as well as in soil. Yet, the Naegleria that Tucson in mainly concerned about has been located in their well water. This well water is the very water that the people of Tucson use on an everyday basis to do activities such as fill their pools and drink from. The Naegleria amoeba that is found in these wells is thought to have resulted from the oil that is used on the pumps in the wells. Although, the wells are said to be safe to use because the water is chlorinated before it is distributed to homes, two boys have died due to Naeglerie in 2002 in Peoria, Arizona. These deaths have inspired Tucson's water companies and other surrounding cities to do a sample to see how many wells are affected by Naegleria fowleri, and to determine what they can do about it. After testing 35 wells, 5 showed that they were infected with the amoeba. A year latter the wells were tested again and only one showed up contaminated, yet this believed to be from an error in testing. This is the main information the article that reported this story on Bay News Nine's website said. Yet, I am wondering what the water companies in Tucson, Arizona and in the surrounding areas are doing to alert the people who are living off of this well water that there could be a deadly amoeba in it. I definitely would not call the water completely safe because testing 35 wells, only 2 times, just does not seem to be enough. It also appears that the people who run the wells have not stopped using the oil on the pumps that they suspect to be the source of the amoeba. Why don't they remove the oil and then do the sample test? It just doesn't make sense to not remove what you think to be the source of the problem.

The Bay News Nine article the above information was received from can be found here : http://www.baynews9.com/content/85/2007/10/5/293013.html?title=Experts:%20Amoeba%20Doesn't%20Pose%20Health%20Risk

More information about Naegleria fowleri and an example of another case can be found here : http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no10/04-0273.htm

Bay News Nine, ""Experts: Amoeba Doesn't Pose Health Risk"". Bay News Nine Health team. October, 6,2007 /www.baynews9.com/content/85/2007/10/5/293013.html?title=Experts:%20Amoeba%20Doesn't%20Pose%20Health%20Risk>.

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