Alert sounded after Kerala girl dies of 'brain-eating amoeba' — How safe are you? | WION Explains

In India's Kerala, the local health department has sounded an alert in the Kozhikode district after a nine-year-old girl died of a rare brain-eating amoeba. As per reports, the region in recent days has seen three back-to-back cases of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). The three cases included a three-month-old baby. What is primary amoebic meningoencephalitis? How can you protect your family and yourself from the rare brain-eating amoeba? Here's all you need to know.

What happened to the nine-year-old Kerala girl?

The unidentified nine-year-old child was admitted to the hospital with a fever on August 13. Her condition worsened quickly, and she was transferred to Kozhikode Medical College on August 14, where she died the same day. A post-mortem test revealed that the cause of death was PAM, also known as amoebic encephalitis, a free-living amoeba found in contaminated waters.

The search for the water body from which the young girl might have caught the infectious organism is underway.

What is primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM)?

Amoebic meningoencephalitis or amoebic encephalitis is caused by Naegleria fowleri, aka "the brain-eating amoeba". It is a microscopic single-celled organism found in warm freshwater bodies like lakes, rivers and hot springs.

The organism mainly thrives in warm water and heat and grows best in high temperatures up to 115°F (46°C) but can at times survive warmer temperatures.

How does it infect people?

Naegleria fowleri can enter the body via infected water. This can happen when people go swimming, diving or dunk their heads in water contaminated by this amoeba. The amoeba, as per the United States Centres for Disease Control (CDC) travels up your nose and enters the brain cavity, where it slowly destroys brain tissue and causes a rare but usually fatal infection called Primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).

Even if people don't go swimming in the above-mentioned water bodies, they can still risk infection if they use Naegleria fowleri-contaminated water to cleanse their noses and clear sinuses. In rare instances, people have been infected by chlorine-free pool water, water parks, etc.

Is it contagious? How can I keep my family safe from the brain-eating amoeba?

No, it isn't. An infected person cannot pass the disease on to another. The sure way of protecting yourself from the rare brain-eating amoeba is to avoid swimming in infected waters. If you're unsure about how clean the water is and choose to swim, as per a Georgia Department of Public Health advisory from 2023, "you can reduce your risk of infection by limiting the amount of water that goes up the nose."

What are the symptoms of brain amoeba?

Common symptoms that typically start after about five days of infection include fever, nausea, and vomiting. Other symptoms that happen at a later stage of infection are a stiff neck, confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, seizures, hallucinations, and coma. Ultimately, it destroys brain tissue, causing swelling in the brain and finally death.

The disease progresses rapidly, and generally, death happens between one and five days after the infection. In almost 97 per cent of cases, the infection turns fatal.

What are the treatment options for Naegleria fowleri?

Currently, no set treatment for the amoeba exists. This is mainly due to the rare nature of this infection. However, a number of drugs have been found to be beneficial in the treatment.