Rare But Ruthless: How A Deadly Amoeba Is Claiming Lives In Kerala

The mother of a nine-year-old girl who died after contracting the so-called "brain-eating amoeba” says she is still struggling to comprehend the loss.

- Press Trust Of India

"I cannot believe my daughter is gone,” a sobbing mother said, adding that there was no clear information from health authorities on how the child became infected.

The girl, hailing from Kozhikode, is among those who have succumbed in recent months to Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis, a rare but almost always fatal brain infection caused by Naegleria fowleri.

Kerala has been grappling with a rare but deadly disease that has claimed the lives of 19 people in recent months.

The culprit is a microscopic parasite known as Naegleria fowleri, more commonly called the "brain-eating amoeba", which causes a condition known as Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis, or PAM.

The infection is almost always fatal, killing more than 98 per cent of those who contract it. Over 70 cases have been reported in the state this year.

The amoeba is found in warm freshwater such as ponds, lakes, rivers and poorly maintained swimming pools.

According to health officials, it does not cause illness when swallowed, but when water enters the nose the parasite can migrate through the nasal passages into the brain, where it causes devastating inflammation and destruction of tissue.

The disease progresses very quickly.