Kerala debates spread of brain-eating amoeba attack

The Kerala Legislative Assembly on Wednesday debated the alarming rise of amoebic meningoencephalitis in the state, which has resulted in 19 fatalities so far this year.

- Ashraf Padanna

The discussion underscored a growing public health crisis, prompting urgent calls for measures to combat this severe condition.

Opening the debate, N Shamsuddeen of the Indian Union Muslim League pointed out that, while the disease is not classified as infectious, the prevalence of the rare disease with a high mortality rate is increasing.

With two more cases of infection of the brain-eating amoeba reported on Tuesday, the number of cases reported this year has totalled 71.

Shamsuddeen deemed this trend a grave concern, criticising the government for its failure to provide satisfactory explanations or actionable plans regarding the spike in cases.