KARACHI: The Sindh health ministry on Tuesday announced that there was nolonger danger of naegleria fowleri, colloquially referred to as the `brain-eating amoeba`, till April if the temperatures remained below 36 degrees Celsius, which used to remain in Karachi in winters.

`The weather has got cooler and temperatures have come down to the benchmark of 36 degrees Celsius, which means the brain-eating amoeba is in hibernation with no dangers until summer arrives in April,` said Dr Syed Zafar Mehdi, focal person for the provincial naegleria monitoring committee.

He said the committee was effectively suspended as the deadly amoeba had gone into hibernation.

However, he warned, people should continue to mix bleach in their water tanks until the capricious weather conditions stabilised.

`Two teaspoons of bleach are enough to kill the bacteria in a standard sized water tank. Keep using it until proper winter comes, he said.

Officials in the health ministry claimed that due to effective awareness campaign people took precautionary measures at home and picnic places, which saved many precious lives.

`The number of people died of naegleria last year was 14, which decreased to two this year,` said an official, adding, they were investigating into the causes behind this year`s deaths to know what improvement needed to be made when the next summer fell.

During the recent summer, said the officials, several swimming pools in luxury hotels, clubs and private properties had been closed because of improper chlorination.

However, they were allowed to be opened when the chlorination levels got improved.

The focal group formed by the Sindh government to tackle thethreat was composed of many civic agencies in the city. The provincial health ministry had earlier conceded that the level of chlorine was not satisfactory on most of pumping stations of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB), which, ultimately, affected the supplies to the entire metropolis and put lives of millions in continuous danger of the lethal germ.

The focal group had earlier shared the results of the water samples it collected and tested from various parts of the city which showed that not a trace of chlorine was found in the water being supplied to the city`s more than 40 per cent neighbourhoods the situation far worse than what was witnessed in previous years.

The officials said chlorine levels at most of the KWSB pumping houses were not satisfactory, which was hugely troublesome for the experts as it meant to put almost entire city to face naegleria dangers.

Lack ofchlorination providesformidable habitat to lethal naegleria fowleri germ in the warm waters that enters through the nasal cavity and eats up human brain tissues leaving no chance of any victim to survive.

Tests taken in 2013 showed an average of 41 per cent of the city was being supplied with unsatisfactorily chlorinated water. The percentageincreased to451astyear.

The officials said the situation, however, got improved, after the KWSB was vehemently reprimanded by the chief minister, who forced it to improve chlorination of water supplied to Karachi to nearsatisfactory level.

However,it didnothappenbefore the citizens invested huge sums out of their pockets to save them from dengue and malaria and purchase of chlorine tablets on everyday basis. This year, officials informed the people that they could use bleach as cost-effective measure to save themselves from the lethal microorganism.