Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis infections, though rare, are fatal and 97% of the patients don’t survive. Image for representation purposes only. File
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The story so far:

A12-year-old boy E.P. Mridul from Feroke in Kozhikode district of Kerala, who had been undergoing treatment for primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) at a private hospital, died on Wednesday night.

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This is the third death due to the rare and fatal infection in the past two months in the State. V. Dakshina, 13, of Kannur died of the infection at a private hospital in Kozhikode on June 12. Fadva, 5, of Munniyur in Malappuram, died at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, on May 20.

What is PAM?

PAM is caused by Naegleria fowleri, an amoeba that thrives in warm freshwater lakes, ponds and rivers. It can also survive in poorly maintained swimming pools in rare cases. Because it can infect the brain and destroy the tissues, this one-celled organism is also called ‘brain-eating amoeba’. These infections, though rare, are fatal and 97% of the patients don’t survive.

How does the amoeba infect people?

The infection happens when people go for a swim in lakes, ponds or rivers, during summer. Experts say that it could occur if the atmospheric temperature is high and the water levels are low. The amoeba enters the body through the nose and reaches up to the brain. It destroys brain tissues and causes their swelling. In recent cases, children are found more vulnerable to it.

What are the symptoms of PAM?

According to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States, headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting are its early symptoms. The progress can happen rapidly. Stiff neck, confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance, and hallucinations are the later symptoms. Most people die within one to 18 days. It usually leads to coma and death after five days, says the CDC.

How is it diagnosed and what are the treatment methods available?

The infection can be diagnosed through lab tests. However since it is a rare infection, the detection can sometimes be hard. In Kozhikode, the doctors at the Government Medical College Hospital suspected its possibility in the five-year-old girl from Malappuram after she exhibited symptoms similar to that of bacterial meningitis. There are no standard treatment methods available in the country and the doctors are following the guidelines of the CDC now.

Kozhikode (Kerala):

A 12-year-old boy has been afflicted by amoebic meningoencephalitis, a rare brain infection caused by a free-living amoeba found in contaminated waters, in Kozhikode district of Kerala, according to sources in the private hospital where he is being treated.

This is the third case of a near fatal infection reported from the southern state since May.

The first one was of a five-year-old girl from Malappuram who died on May 21 and the second of a 13-year-old girl from Kannur who died on June 25.

The third case is of a 12-year-old boy from Kozhikode who was admitted in the Baby Memorial Hospital here on Monday.

One of the doctors treating him said that the infection was identified and the treatment commenced on the same day.

“We identified the infection in tests done at our labs and informed the DMO who took preventive measures by closing down access to the pond where the child had bathed,” the doctor said.

The samples were then sent for testing to a lab in Puducherry from where the printed PCR report is awaited officially confirming the infection, he said.

“The disease has a mortality rate of 95-100 per cent. The boy continues to be in critical condition,” the doctor said.

He said that the hospital was able to quickly identify the infection and begin treatment as it was the third case of the disease and the protocols were already in place to deal with it.

According to medical experts, the infection is caused when free-living, non-parasitic amoebae bacteria enter the body through the nose from contaminated water.

The Health Department on Thursday had asked people to exercise caution against amoebic meningoencephalitis.

“Bathing in stagnant water and diving in water should be avoided as much as possible as this disease has been reported in Kerala. Water in theme parks and swimming pools should be properly chlorinated to ensure that it is clean,” it had said.

The disease was earlier reported in coastal Alappuzha district in the state in 2023 and 2017.

The main symptoms of the disease are fever, headache, vomiting, and seizures.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)