Texas Governor Declares Disaster After Brain-Eating Amoeba Found in City’s Water

BY JACK PHILLIPS September 28, 2020 The governor of Texas declared a disaster after a brain-eating amoeba that killed a 6-year-old boy was found in a city’s water supply. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday declared a disaster (pdf) in Brazoria County and said that of 11 water tests conducted in the county, three found N. fowleri, the brain-eating amoeba. That is now “posing an imminent threat to public health and safety, including loss of life,” he said. “A proclamation certifying the presence of Naegleria fowleri, which can cause a rare and devastating infection of the brain called primary amebic meningoencephalitis, was identified in the water supply in Brazoria County; and declaring a state of disaster,” his order said. “TCEQ and city official