Kozhikode reports 2 more amoebic encephalitis cases after a death
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Kozhikode/Kerala: After the death of a 9-year-old girl out of amoebic encephalitis the other day, two more people were diagnosed with the deadly disease in Kerala’s Kozhikode on Sunday. The state public health department has issued a caution as cases of the disease continue to rise. The fresh cases of the disease, caused by a free-living amoeba found in contaminated water and infecting the brain, are a youth and a three-month-old baby.
The two are under treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital in the district, while health department officials visited their houses and collected water samples.
Amoebic encephalitis was confirmed as the cause of the nine-year-old girl's death two days ago, on Saturday.
A senior health official said that the girl was admitted to a hospital due to fever on August 13, but as her condition worsened quickly, she was shifted to the Kozhikode medical college on August 14, where she died the same day.
A test carried out at the microbiology lab of the medical college revealed late Friday night that the cause of the girl's death was amoebic encephalitis, the official said.
The search is on to identify the water body, such as a pond or lake, from where the child contracted the pathogen, he said.
"Once the water body is identified, we will look for those who may have bathed in it recently," he added.
The official said it was probably the fourth rare brain infection reported by the district this year.
Caused by free-living amoeba, amoebic encephalitis is a deadly infection that is typically contracted from freshwater sources such as lakes, rivers, and streams.
