The water flooding Texas right now is probably filled with infectious bacteria

Some of the billions of dollars worth of damage Harvey has inflicted upon Texas has been on sewer systems, which means that the torrential rain is mixed with untreated water that probably contains human waste. “Certainly, there can be contamination with high levels of water—fecal contamination, things like that,” Phil Huang, medical director for Austin Public Health, told NPR. In particular, officials are worried about the spread of tetanus, and infection caused by the bacterium Clostridium tetani. This type of bacteria winds up in the bloodstream when puncture wounds get dirty from soil, spit, or fecal matter. It takes anywhere from three days to three weeks for problems to surface. And when they do, it’s bad. Colloquially, the worst iteration is known as lockjaw because patients lose the ability to move their mouths from muscle spasms the infection https://qz.com/1064767/hurricane-harvey-flood-waters-likely-carry-diseases/