By MONIQUE DEVEREUX
MATAMATA - Two Matamata pools have reopened after being tested for the bug which causes a deadly strain of meningitis.
The closures followed a woman being admitted to Waikato Hospital over a week ago with suspected amoebic meningitis.
The woman, who has requested that no information be released about her condition, had used both the Matamata Sports Centre and the Opal Springs Hot Pools in the days before she became ill.
Both pools closed voluntarily to be tested for the amoeba, but Health Waikato medical officer of health Dr Dell Hood said the results from both were negative.
This did not rule out the bug's presence.
The amoeba lives in soil around hot pools and is dangerous only if it enters the human body, which is why swimmers should not submerge their heads in geothermal waters.
Concrete pools, such as the sports centre, can also contain the amoeba if they are not cleaned regularly or well enough, or if contaminated water from the surrounding ground seeps in.
Dr Hood said both pools should continue to monitor the water.
A 10-year-old Cambridge girl died in May after contracting amoebic meningitis. She had swum at Opal Springs and the Soda Springs pools near Rotorua before becoming ill.
Tests on both pools at the time were also negative, although at Soda Springs signs were posted to remind swimmers not to submerge their heads.
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