At least 19 people have died after being infected with ‘brain-eating amoeba’ in a single state of India.
Naegleria fowleri is a single-celled organism that can cause a brain infection called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).
The infection is so rare that fewer than 488 cases have been recorded worldwide since 1962.
Yet cases of PAM are rising fast in Kerala, having reached 61 this year already, up nearly 70% from 2024.
Of them, 19 people have died. Three died within the last few weeks, including a three-month-old infant, Health Minister Veena George told the state assembly yesterday, according to India’s NDTV.
She began feeling dizzy and faint on the eve of the state’s annual Onam harvest festival – just one day later, on September 5, she died.
Her cousin, Ajitha Kathiradath told the BBC: ‘We were powerless to stop it. We learnt about the disease only after Sobhana’s death.’
Kerala recorded its first case of naegleria fowleri in 2016, seeing just eight cases over the next nine years.
Last year, the state reported 36 cases of PAM and nine deaths.
While the survival rate of PAM worldwide is 5%, Kerala has achieved 24% because of the state’s advanced testing and diagnosis, George said.
The amoeba is typically found wriggling around in warm bodies of fresh water, such as lakes, rivers and hot springs, where it feeds on bacteria.
It can enter the human body through the nose during a rush of water, entering the brain and feasting on brain tissue.
Signs of infection include headache, nausea, vomiting and confusion. While extremely rare, it almost always leads to death.
Health officials recommend people take steps to block water from entering the nose when swimming or diving in warm lakes or rivers.
The Kerala government has begun chlorinating wells, water tanks and public bathing areas.
Officials said last year that the spike in amoebae is down to climate change, where the burning of fossil fuels is pushing India’s temperature so high that more people are taking dips in public water.
The southern state has a high number of groundwater and natural water bodies, with millions of people relying on 5.5million wells and 55,000 ponds for water.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
