Brain-eating amoeba claims life of Kerala boy, 3rd such death in 3 months

Srinagar, July 05: In a third such death since May this year, a 14-year-old boy from Kozhikode area of Kerala died due to an infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba, a media report said.

The infection was identified as amoebic meningoencephalitis, a rare and often fatal brain infection caused by a free-living amoeba found in contaminated water, reported Business Today.

Quoting Kerala State Health Department, the newspaper said that Mridul died at 11:20 pm on July 3.

The deceased was a class 7th student at FarooK Higher Secondary School in Kozhikode. He had been admitted to a private hospital with complaints of vomiting and headache last week. The doctors immediately diagnosed him with amoebic meningoencephalitis.

Before falling ill, he reportedly had bathed in a pond, after which officials instructed the public to avoid the pond. They also warned others who had recently taken a bath there to remain vigilant for symptoms.

This demise of the Class 7 student comes after the deaths of two other children from Malappuram and Kannur districts who also fell victim to amoebic meningoencephalitis earlier this year.

Amoebic meningoencephalitis is a rare but severe brain infection caused by amoebae, particularly "Naegleria fowleri" and "Acanthamoeba" species.

The amoeba, commonly referred to as the "brain-eating amoeba", typically infects people through contaminated freshwater, entering the body via the nose and then migrating to the brain, where it feeds on nerve tissue and causes inflammation. This disease is not transmitted from human to human.

Symptoms usually start 1-9 days after exposure and include headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, seizures, altered mental status, and hallucinations.

The disease progresses rapidly, often resulting in death within 1-12 days after symptoms begin.

According to doctors the infection occurs when free-living, non-parasitic amoebae bacteria enter the body through the nose from contaminated water.

Health authorities have advised people to exercise caution against amoebic meningoencephalitis.

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