Early detection and prevention crucial: Experts

THE Kerala State Public Health Laboratory has dismissed recent reports suggesting inadequate facilities for testing amoebic meningoencephalitis (amoebic brain fever) as baseless, clarifying that the state has robust systems for detection and diagnosis.

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Kozhikode

While only about five laboratories in India currently have Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing facilities to detect amoebae, Kerala has operated an advanced molecular diagnostic system in Thiruvananthapuram since June last year. This facility enables both confirmation of amoebic infections and precise species identification—a breakthrough in the state's medical infrastructure.

Until recently, amoebic fever cases were confirmed only at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh. With Kerala's testing capability, confirmation is now faster and available within the state, aiding timely treatment and research. The Thiruvananthapuram lab can identify five types of pathogenic amoebae—Naegleria fowleri, Acanthamoeba species, Vermamoeba vermiformis, Balamuthia mandrillaris, and Paravahlkampfia francinae. Most labs in the country can detect only three types.