A rare, brain infection causing amoebae was detected in a Kerala teen. The 15-year-old living in Panavalli in Alappuzha was infected with the disease called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, a release by the Kerala government said on Friday.
Additional information about the teen who died wasn't available. The disease was earlier reported in the Alappuzha municipality area in 2017, officials said. The free-living amoeba enters the body through the nose. The main symptoms of the disease are fever, headache, vomiting, and seizures. Officials have advised people to avoid taking bath in contaminated water. Symptoms of the disease are indistinguishable from bacterial meningitis. And despite antimicrobial therapy, the mortality rate is 90 per cent.
The disease is caused by infection with Naegleria fowleri, a microscopic amoeba commonly called a "brain-eating amoeba. The parasite is found in the soil and freshwaters, such as ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, hot springs, and unchlorinated swimming pools. Amebic meningoencephalitis is very rare and only 3.7 cases are reported per year worldwide. It is commonly found in warmer regions.
