Brain eating amoeba kills minor boy in Kerala
It has been believed that the boy got infected from the waterbody, a small stream near his home
In a very rare incident, a minor boy was reported killed in Kerala recently after getting infected by ‘brain-eating amoeba’. The incident reportedly took place in Alappuzha district of Kerala. According to the Health Department, the primary amoebic meningoencephalitis caused by Naegleria fowleri, or the “brain-eating amoeba”.
Reportedly, the deceased boy was a native of Panavally village. He was undergoing treatment at the Govt Medical College Hospital in Alappuzha. He died on Thursday evening.
A week ago, the boy developed a fever and sought treatment at a local clinic. On Sunday, his condition deteriorated and he was shifted to the medical college hospital, where he was diagnosed with the infection, reported The Indian Express.
Reportedly, it has been believed that the boy most probably was infected from the waterbody, a small stream near his home.
Naegleria is an amoeba, a single-celled organism that is commonly found in warm freshwater, such as lakes and rivers, or more rarely, in inadequately chlorinated swimming pools or heated and contaminated tap water.
Infection with the amoeba causes primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a brain infection that initially includes headache, fever, nausea, or vomiting and progresses to stiff neck, seizures and coma that can lead to death. Symptoms usually begin about five days after infection but can start within one to 12 days. Once symptoms start, the disease progresses rapidly and usually causes death within about five days.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention only one of its species, called Naegleria fowleri, can infect humans.
