Augathella is one of two towns dealing with an infected water supply (Picture: Getty Images)

A potentially deadly amoeba has been found in drinking water in Australia.

Testing by Queensland health authorities found naegleria fowleri in the water supply of two towns in the south west of the region.

Murweh Shire Council,which covers Charleville and Augathella,the two affected towns,said the risk of the amoeba’s presence comes from unchlorinated water sourced from the Great Artesian Basin,a huge underground reservoir.

The basin is the only source of fresh water for much of inland Australia,and the largest and deepest in the world.

A spokesperson for the council said: ‘As a precaution,council is currently arranging the collection of further water samples to identify the extent of naegleria fowleri colonisation in the drinking water supplies serving the communities of Charleville and Augathella.

‘Samples will also be collected from the Morven supply as a precaution.’

Charleville is also affected (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The council is also reassuring residents that drinking water is still safe for human consumption,and boiling water for drinking,food preparation and personal hygiene is not necessary.

Council chief Bruce Scott said: ‘This public health risk is very new to council too,but we hope to have a suitably qualified person/s … to provide answers where possible.

‘Please observe the advice provided,and council is seeking your assistance to help spread the word on how to manage this risk sensibly and reassure people to remain calm until the public health unit,the water regulator and council can provide a mitigation strategy.’

While the amoeba has been detected in the water supply,there currently haven’t been any new recorded infections,ABC reports.

There have been five cases of PAM in the Queensland region since 2000,most recently one-year-old Cash Keough from Richmond who died in 2015.

Before that,five-year-old James Elliott died on Boxing Day 2001,and his half-sister 19-month-old Anabella Elliott died eight years later.

Children are thought to be more at risk because the sliver of bone which separates the brain from the nose inside the skull is underdeveloped in children,allowing the amoeba to pass through.

The illness is difficult to diagnose and there is no proven cure,meaning treatment even if caught early is rarely effective.