Kerala’s health department issued an alert in Kozhikode district on Monday after three back-to-back cases of the rare primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) were reported from the region. One of the victims, a nine-year-old girl, died on August 14, while the lives of the other two infected individuals, which included a 3 year old baby, hang in the balance.
Officials are now trying to identify the water body, like a pond or lake, from which the child contracted the pathogen. According to officials, the state of Kerala has already recorded eight confirmed cases of the rain brain infection that resulted in two deaths, including that of a 9-year-old girl.
What is PAM?
Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis or PAM is a rare and deadly form of brain infection that is primarily caused by an individual’s contact with Naegleria fowleri, a free-living amoeba that’s typically found in warm, fresh water bodies and moist soil. The amoeba infects people when it enters their body through the nose, causing a rapid and severe inflammation of the brain.
What are its symptoms?
Health department officials further stated that the initial symptoms of the infection are generally flu-like and can include headache, fever, nausea and vomiting. In severe cases, the infected can also develop a stiff neck, confusion, seizures, and coma. These effects are supposed to develop rapidly when infected, and some people may also have hallucinations and problems with body balance.
How to avoid getting infected by this brain-eating Amoeba?
The health department warned people and said, children should avoid bathing in ponds or stagnant water. The health officials further stressed the need to regularly chlorinate the water in swimming pools and water theme parks to avoid harbouring the risk of exposing children to this fatal infection. They further advised the state’s residents to visit their healthcare providers as soon as they come across any of the aforelisted symptoms.
Tracing the infection’s history in India
The first case of PAM in India was reported in 1971, and the first case in Kerala was reported in 2016. From 2016 to 2023, the state had only eight cases. However, the state witnessed a huge jump in the numbers as Kerala recorded 36 positive cases and nine deaths in 2024
All reported cases in India had led to the patient’s death until July 2024, when a 14-year-old boy in Kozhikode district became the first Indian to survive the disease. He was only the 11th PAM survivor in the world.