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 inflammati.
