Kerala has once again reported a death from a rare and life-threatening brain infection called amoebic meningoencephalitis, raising concerns in the state over the growing threat of the disease. 49-year-old Shaji, a resident of Chelembra in Malappuram district, died on Thursday at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) in Kozhikode. This is the sixth death due to this infection in the last one month.
Shaji was hospitalised and undergoing treatment for more than a week, but he could not recover from the infection. It is not yet known how the infection spread, raising apprehensions about its spread.
Nine patients are currently undergoing treatment for this deadly disease at the Kozhikode MCH. Apart from this, another patient who was confirmed to be infected on September 10 is admitted to a private hospital in Kozhikode.
Since August 14, several people have lost their lives due to this disease in the state. “Anaya, a Thamarassery resident, a three-month-old baby girl from Omassery both from Kozhikode district, Ratheesh a resident of Wayanad, and Shobana a resident of Wandoor in Malappuram, died in less than a month of each other from this deadly disease that affects the brain.”
Amidst these continuous deaths, there was some relief on September 8 when two children undergoing treatment at the Kozhikode MCH were discharged after making a full recovery.
Amoebic meningoencephalitis is an extremely rare but dangerous brain infection that spreads through contact with free-living amoeba found in fresh water such as lakes and rivers. The disease is now becoming a serious public health challenge in Kerala.
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