Meningitis scare shuts two pools

By MONIQUE DEVEREUX

MATAMATA - A second suspected case of the deadly meningitis strain that killed a 10-year-old Cambridge girl in May has prompted the closure of two Matamata pools.

A Waikato woman was admitted to hospital with symptoms of amoebic meningitis at the weekend. It may be days before it is confirmed that she has the meningitis strain.

In the days before falling ill, she is believed to have used the Opal Hot Springs and the Matamata Sports Centre indoor pool, both of which closed on Saturday.

Water samples have been taken from the pools and the results should be known on Friday.

It is the second time in three months that Matamata's Opal Hot Springs has been closed to test for the deadly disease.

Ten-year-old Rose Bielski-Brown died in Waikato Hospital on May 1 after contracting amoebic meningitis. She had been swimming at both the Opal Hot Springs and the Soda Springs, near Rotorua, over the holiday weekend before her death.

Both the Opal Hot Springs and the Soda Springs were tested for the amoebic bug following Rose's death, with negative results.

Amoebic meningitis can be contracted from swimming in both natural, earth-lined springs and commercial concrete pools. The amoeba enters the body through the nose and travels to the brain where it can cause irreparable damage.

Symptoms include severe headache, fever and vomiting.

Although the amoeba is usually found in the soil surrounding hot pools, it can also be found in concrete pools if they are not cleaned regularly or well enough, or if contaminated water from the surrounding ground seeps into the pool.

Health Waikato medical officer of health Dr Dell Hood says a negative result does not necessarily mean the amoeba is not present in the pool. It could just mean it was not in the water sampled.

She said because the amoeba lived in the soil surrounding hot pools, people should be careful not to submerge their heads when swimming.

Andrew Burdon, of Opal Hot Springs, yesterday said the pool was closed on the advice of Dr Hood, but would not comment any further.

The Matamata Sports Centre is operated by the Matamata Piako District Council. Don McLeod, operations and technical services manager, said the council closed the centre's indoor pool on Saturday.

Although the pool is concrete, the council had been made aware of a couple of risk factors.

Amoebic meningitis has claimed the lives of 10 New Zealanders in the past 32 years. The previous fatal case before Rose was in 1978, when Matamata building inspector Rod Wormley died.