Child fights for life as amoeba alert shuts pool

By PAUL YANDALL

HAMILTON - One hot spring has been closed and another is under investigation after a child was admitted to hospital with the usually fatal amoebic meningitis disease.

The critically ill 10-year-old Waikato child was still in intensive care late last night after being taken to Waikato Hospital on Friday night with a headache and fever.

A health official did not want to reveal which hot pools were being investigated until results had confirmed the amoeba's presence.

Health authorities were alerted on Saturday after a diagnosis of the child revealed the presence of the disease.

The child is thought to have caught the disease in either an open hot spring in the Rotorua region or a commercial hot pool in the Waikato over the Easter-Anzac Day break.

Few people are believed to have survived the disease and eight people died of it in the Waikato and Rotorua regions in the 1970s. There have not been any other reported cases until this latest one.

The amoeba thrives in the soil surrounding hot pools and can cause irreparable damage to a person's brain.

The medical officer of health for the Waikato, Dr Dell Hood, said although the risk was minimal, people were putting themselves at risk by submerging their heads in hot pools because the amoeba enters the body through the nose.

"The message to everyone is this: keep your head out of the water.

"This is the first case of it happening here in a very long time and we're currently investigating two possible sites."

Dr Hood said pools that were concreted, fully treated and chlorinated were generally safe.

"But until we complete our investigations we are warning people not to jump or dive or put their head under [the water in] such pools."

The results of samples taken from the pools by investigators should be known early this week.

The owner of one of the hot springs under investigation said she had been told to close by health authorities yesterday.

"They just came up and told us to stay closed until further notice. I'm not sure when we'll be able to open again."

Amoebic meningitis is thought to have claimed nine New Zealanders in the past 32 years. The last case of the disease is believed to have occurred at least 20 years ago.

The amoeba can be found not only in natural, earth-lined springs but also in commercial, concreted ones if they are not cleaned regularly or well enough or if contaminated water from the surrounding ground seeps into the pools.

Once in the brain, the amoeba can produce an enzyme which can cause fatal damage over three to seven days. Symptoms include severe headaches, vomiting and fever.

Dr Hood said the disease was difficult to treat but could be fought successfully with antibiotics if caught early enough, and anyone with symptoms of the disease should see a doctor immediately.