Kerala sounds health alert after brain-eating amoeba outbreak
Kerala has sounded a health alert after 69 people were infected and 19 died from a rare brain infection called Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM) this year.
The disease is caused by Naegleria fowleri, often called the "brain-eating amoeba," which lives in warm freshwater.
Health Minister Veena George noted that cases are now popping up individually rather than in clusters, making it harder to track.
PAM almost always fatal; survival rates at 24% in Kerala
Naegleria fowleri infects people when contaminated water enters the nose—usually while swimming or bathing in lakes, ponds, or other untreated freshwater sources.
PAM is almost always fatal, but Kerala's early detection efforts have pushed survival rates up to 24%, way above the global average of less than 3%.
Officials recommend avoiding untreated water, using nose clips when swimming, and keeping wells properly chlorinated.
Environmental checks are ongoing since some recent patients had no clear water exposure.