Karachi health director warns of spread of naegleria

Department has yet to form experts team to monitor water quality.

KARACHI: With Naegleria Fowleri claiming 14 lives in summer last year, Karachi health director Shakoor Abbasi has raised concerns over water being supplied to the city without sufficient amount of chlorine.

Every year, health department forms a team of experts to monitor the condition of water and the amount of chlorine that is included.



The team prepares a report which is used to formulate a plan of action. However, this year a team has yet to be formed which has raised serious concerns regarding the spread of naegleria in the city.

Abbasi wrote a letter to the water board officials requesting them to monitor the quality of water last week. During the summer, there are serious threats of naegleria developing in the water, he said while speaking to The Express Tribune.

Naegleria develops when the mercury touches 36˚ Celsius or more, pointed out Abbasi.



He also urged the people to take measures against the deadly 'brain-eating' amoeba by keeping their water tanks clean and adding required amount of chlorine in the tanks.

Naegleria Fowleri is a parasite not a virus, he explained adding that it multiplies in the brain and causes severe headaches, rigidity in neck muscles and mental confusion.



The parasitic amoeba also damages brain tissues, which may result in coma and or even death within 48 to 72 hours, he added.

Karachi Water and Sewerage Board spokesperson Nazir Mateen said that chlorine is added in the water from the main pumping stations in the city [such as Pipri and Dhabeji]. The water reservoirs are closely monitored, he claimed.

Mateen also said that people themselves should clean their decades old lines and water tanks in order to protect them from this deadly amoeba.

People should avoid swimming in open pools of water as there is a high chance naegleria being present there, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2016.