Preliminary tests at a New Taipei City indoor water park, which was visited by a woman who later died from a rare brain-eating amoeba, were negative for Naegleria fowleri, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesperson Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) said that experts from the centers and the New Taipei City Department of Health visited the indoor water park on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday last week, collecting 56 specimens from 10 areas.
The test results of 14 specimens from three areas — the water inlets, the pool walls and the pool floor — were negative for N fowleri, while the test results of the other specimens are expected to come back between Thursday and Monday next week, Tseng said.
CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said that N fowleri infection is rare, as no more than 400 cases have been reported globally since the first case was reported in 1965, including two in Japan and an imported case in South Korea.
Health authorities in Australia, Canada and the US suggest that water disinfected with free chlorine at a concentration of between 0.5mg per liter (mg/L) and 1mg/L can effectively kill amoebas such as N fowleri in swimming pools, Tseng said.
The US CDC suggests that 1mg/L of free chlorine be used for pool water, which can kill 99.9 percent of amoebas, she added.
In Taiwan, the guidelines for infectious disease prevention and sanitation control at business venues stipulate that swimming pool water should have a pH level of between 6.5 and eight, and that the free chlorine concentration should be between 1mg/L and 3mg/L, she said.
Lin said research suggests that the amoeba is commonly found in warm fresh water, and prefers water temperatures between 25°C and 46°C.
It has been found in lakes, rivers and hot springs, but cases have also been reported at swimming pools and water parks, he said.
Lin said that when engaging in freshwater activities, people should avoid submerging their heads under the water or stirring up sediment, and should seek medical attention immediately and tell their doctors about the water activity if they begin to experience suspected symptoms of an amoeba infection, including fever, headache, nausea and vomiting.
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