HOUSTON — Floodwaters in two Houston neighborhoods have been contaminated with bacteria and toxins that can make people sick, testing organized by The New York Times has found. Residents will need to take precautions to return safely to their homes, public health experts said. 
 
 It is not clear how far the toxic waters have spread. But Fire Chief Samuel Peña of Houston said over the weekend that there had been breaches at numerous waste treatment plants. The Environmental Protection Agency said on Monday that 40 of 1,219 such plants in the area were not working. 
 
 The results of The Times’s testing were troubling. Water flowing down Briarhills Parkway in the Houston Energy Corridor contained Escherichia coli, a measure of fecal contamination, at a level more than four times that considered safe. 
 
 In the Clayton Homes public housing development downtown, along the Buffalo Bayou, scientists found what they considered astonishingly high levels of E. coli in standing water in one family’s living room — levels 135 times those considered safe — as well as elevated levels of lead, arsenic and other heavy metals in sediment from the floodwaters in the kitchen. 

 A man in Texas says he got infected with flesh-eating bacteria while helping his neighbors in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey last week. 
 
 J.R. Atkins, of Missouri City, Texas, wrote in a Facebook post that he was hospitalized after what he thought was a small bug bite turned into swelling and some numbness in his hand. He had been kayaking through flooded streets to check on his neighbors, Atkins wrote, and noticed the bite when he returned home. 
 
 “All was well and people were actually out and about taking,” he wrote. “Came home around 4pm and noticed a small bite on my left arm not huge but probably Nickel sized swelling.” 
 
 At first he wasn’t concerned, but when the swelling spread the next morning, Atkins went to Houston Methodist in Sugar Land, according to KPRC, a local news station. The hospital figured out he had flesh-eating bacteria, or necrotizing fasciitis, and quickly prepared him for several surgeries. 
 
 The bacteria Atkins contracted can quickly turn deadly, according to the CDC. Diagnosing the bacteria early, getting antibiotics and surgery are important to stopping its growth. 
 
 “If it wouldn’t have been for the nurses here at Methodist, I probably would have not been able to make it through it. I mean, there’s no way I could have made it through it,” Atkins told KRPC. 
 
 Atkins is a former firefighter and medic, according to KPRC, and he said his knowledge of the symptoms helped him get to a hospital in time. But he’s worried that other people spending time in storm water won’t know what to look for. He told KPRC that people should take precautions like wearing gloves, masks, boots and goggles if they are spending time in flood waters. 
 
 In his Facebook post, Atkins said he is feeling better and hopes to be discharged from the hospital soon. 

 Houston floodwaters contain a toxic mix of bacteria. Photo by Brandon Navarro 
 
 Updated, Thursday, 8:30 a.m.: Floodwater from Hurricane Harvey has receded from much of Houston, but for those in areas still swamped, like west Houston, contaminated water carrying bacteria and potentially infectious diseases can be just as deadly. 
 
 Doctors from the Infectious Diseases Society of America sent out warnings to local media as the initial downpours hammered the Texas coast with 19 trillion gallons of water, listing mosquito-borne viruses like West Nile and Zika as potential threats, as well as water contaminated by animal and human waste. Floodwater samples collected in Cypress by Texas A&M showed water with E. coli – the bacteria found in the digestive tract of humans and animals – at levels 125 times higher than what is considered safe for swimming. Even wading in such water could be considered dangerous, according to Terry Gentry, an associate professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M. 
 
 Plus, with about 4,300 people still in the city’s two mega shelters – the George R. Brown Convention Center and the NRG Center — the risk of disease spreading remains high. 
 
 “The message we need to put out is there is a risk of infection and you need to keep an eye out for yourself,” said Dr. Luis Ostrosky, a professor of infectious diseases with the University of Texas Health Science Center of Houston and a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 
 
 With mass flooding, fecal matter, urine and fluids from dead animals quickly pollute floodwater, said Ostrosky. Risk for illnesses like Legionnaires' diseases and leptospirosis, both of which are caused by ingesting bacteria, as well as exposure to nasty diarrhea-inducing germs, is possible. But more immediate concerns are for those with cuts and abrasions. Residents escaping flooding, emergency rescue workers and anyone in contact with floodwater should clean themselves immediately after exposure and use disinfectant on any wounds. People who have injuries displaying excessive redness, swelling or puffiness should seek medical advice immediately. 
 
 One rumor Ostrosky has seen circulating online is that people dealing with floodwater should take preventative doses of antibiotics beforehand. He stressed that the Infectious Diseases Society discourages that strategy and said unnecessary applications of antibiotics can lead to other side effects, like a weakened potency for those same drugs later on. 
 
 For those with cuts or scrapes who came into contact with floodwater, or people who just need to update their shots, three Houston-area FastMed Urgent Cares are offering free tetanus shot boosters from Thursday through Sunday. If you haven't received a tetanus booster in the last 10 years, have a dirty wound and not received a booster in the last five years or have touched floodwaters with cuts, burns, scrapes or animals bites, FastMed is urging you to receive a booster. Those seeking boosters can visit FastMed locations in Tomball at 14080 FM 2920, Humble at 3832 Atascocita and in Houston at 4805 Highway 6 North. 
 
 Ostrosky said large outbreaks of mosquito-borne viruses are less likely in the United States, but with massive amounts of standing water, precautions like wearing long sleeves and applying insect repellent should be used in and around floodwaters. The Texas Department of State Health Services recorded 75 cases of Zika in Harris County last year, with only five so far in 2017 — but that was before Harvey. 
 
 As of now, Houston’s clean water supply has been not been affected. The same A&M team that tested floodwaters for E. coli found tap water was fine for ingestion, and only a few districts in Harris County have received boil-water notices. 
 
 Essentially, Ostrosky said, residents should be smart. Many of these problems can be avoided by using common sense. That should be enough to handle the natural contaminants, even if more pollutants could be on the way. 
 

– Houston's floodwaters are contaminated with dangerous bacteria likely responsible for an upswing in health issues, reports the New York Times. The Times organized a team of scientists from Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University who tested floodwaters in two Houston neighborhoods. In a family's living room at a downtown public housing development, they found E. coli at 135 times the level considered safe. High levels of lead, arsenic, and other heavy metals were found elsewhere in the home, while E. coli was found at four times the level considered safe in a neighborhood in Houston's Energy Corridor. The Houston Press previously reported that a Texas A&M team had found E. coli at 125 times the level considered safe for swimming. "There's pretty clearly sewage contamination," says Lauren Stadler, who took part in the Times' research. The analysis suggests "conditions inside the home are more ideal for bacteria to grow and concentrate. It's warmer and the water has stagnated for days and days," says Stadler. People have been forced to wade through floodwaters to reach their homes, but kids have also been seen playing in floodwaters, she notes, adding, "That's concerning to me." Doctors say they've seen an increase in skin infections likely from exposure to floodwaters, while one man says medical staff helped him survive flesh-eating bacteria, reports Time. Other residents have complained about staph infections, including some who say they weren't warned about possible contamination.