Amoebic brain fever: Three persons diagnosed in Kerala, precautions advised

Thiruvananthapuram: Three persons who bathed in a pond in this South Kerala district have been diagnosed with amoebic meningoencephalitis, State Health Minister Veena George said on Monday.

In a statement, she revealed that a recent death in Thiruvananthapuram was also confirmed to have been from the deadly disease, commonly known as amoebic brain fever.

The three patients diagnosed with the disease are currently undergoing treatment at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College hospital.

According to the minister, all of these patients had come into contact with the virus from the pond where they had bathed. In light of the confirmed cases of amoebic meningoencephalitis in Thiruvananthapuram, the health department has issued an advisory.

People using water from ponds where animals are bathed or where water hyacinths are present are advised to exercise caution. The advisory recommended avoiding bathing or washing one's face in contaminated water. Amoebic meningoencephalitis is a rare and often fatal disease caused by the amoeba Naegleria fowleri.

A 14-year-old boy, who had died early in July, was the latest victim of amoebic meningoencephalitis in Kerala. That was the fourth case of the rare brain infection reported in the state since May and all the patients were children.

According to medical experts, the infection occurs when free-living, non-parasitic amoebae bacteria enter the body through the nose from contaminated water. The disease was earlier reported in coastal Alappuzha district in the state in 2023 and 2017.