Boy from Kerala dies of rare infection caused by brain-eating amoeba; third death in two months

A 12-year-old boy from Feroke, who was being treated for primary amoebic meningoencephalitis at a private hospital in Kozhikode city of Kerala, died on the night of July 4.

This is the third death due to a rare and deadly infection in Kerala in the last two months.

Bathed in the pond

According to sources, EP Mridul, son of EP Ajith Prasad and Jyothi, was a Class 7 student of Farook Higher Secondary School. He was initially admitted to the government taluk hospital in Feroke last month after complaining of headache and vomiting. Mridul had earlier bathed in a local pond near Farook College.

He was later referred to Government Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode and then to the private hospital. Mridul was in critical condition since June 24.

V. Dakshina, 13, of Kannur died of a similar infection at a private hospital in Kozhikode on June 12. Fadva, 5, of Munniyur in Malappuram, died at Government Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode on May 20.

In light of these deaths, the Kerala Health Department is planning to issue special guidelines to treat the infection.

Symptoms of the disease

The infection is caused by Naegleria fowleri, also called the “brain-eating amoeba,” which lives in warm, freshwater bodies such as lakes and rivers. The amoeba infects people when it enters the body through the nose. From the nose, it travels to the brain, where it destroys brain tissue and causes it to swell. Symptoms include headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, altered mental status, and seizures.

The health department has advised children with ear infections not to bathe in ponds or stagnant water. It has been instructed that the water in swimming pools and water parks should be chlorinated regularly.