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Kerala: ‘Brain-eating’ amoebic infection claims 2 more lives
Kerala has reported 42 cases of amoebic meningoencephalitis so far this year. In 2024, the state reported 36 cases and nine deaths.
Amoebic meningoencephalitis, a rare but fatal form of brain infection caused by a certain kind of amoebic species residing in fresh, stagnant waters, has claimed two more lives in Kerala, including that of a three-month-old child, health officials said on Monday.
The deceased were identified as a 52-year-old woman from Kappil in Malappuram district and a three-month-old boy from Omassery in Kozhikode district. Both of them were critical at the Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital after being brought in for treatment in the first week of July.
“Currently, there are 10 persons undergoing treatment for the infection at the Kozhikode MCH, of which two are in critical condition. Both of them have comorbidities,” said MCH principal Dr Sajith Kumar.
With this, the number of fatalities due to the rare infection this year in the state has risen to three after a nine-year-old girl from Thamarassery succumbed to the disease on August 14.
Kerala has reported 42 cases of amoebic meningoencephalitis so far this year. In 2024, the state reported 36 cases and nine deaths.
The infection is caused by Naegleria fowleri, a free-living, brain-eating amoeba that resides in stagnant fresh water and soil beneath water bodies like ponds and lakes. The amoeba enters the human body through the nose when the person swims or dives straight into water bodies, especially with stagnant water. The amoeba reaches the brain after travelling through pores in the thin layer that separates the nose and brain. Symptoms that emerge within 5-10 days of infection are commonly headache, fever, vomiting, nausea and inability to look at bright light.
The amoeba is known to destroy brain tissues and cause swelling, eventually resulting in death. The infection is rare but deadly, with a global fatality rate of 97%.
The state health department gave directions for a massive clean-up of wells and ponds in the state with water sources asked to be chlorinated by respective local bodies over the weekend.
