A nine-year-old girl died in Kerala due to Naegleria fowleri amoeba from well water. This amoeba enters the brain through the nose and causes severe inflammation and tissue damage. The symptoms of a rare disease called PAM are like a normal fever in the initial stages, which makes identification difficult

If an amoeba, a very microscopic unicellular organism normally found in water, reaches the human brain, it becomes extremely difficult to save the life. This rare disease, caused by Naegleria fowleri or brain-eating amoeba, is called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). Due to symptoms like headache, fever, and nausea in the initial stage, this disease is usually not detected early. Recently, three cases of this have been reported in Kerala, in which a nine-year-old girl died. She is suspected of having got the infection due to drinking well water. Because amoeba has been found in the well water during testing.

The biggest challenge for the state health department is that the cases have been reported from different villages in Kozhikode district, so there is no uniformity in them. The first case of PAM in India was reported in 1971, and it was first reported in Kerala in 2016. Last year, Kerala reported 36 such cases and nine deaths.

Naegleria fowleri destroys brain tissue

The Naegleria fowleri amoeba that causes PAM is found in warm, freshwater, and soil around the world. High temperatures up to 46 degrees Celsius favor its growth, and it can survive for a short time in warm environments. Naegleria fowleri usually enters the body through the nose while swimming. It then reaches the brain, and destroys brain tissue and increases inflammation.

97% in the world, but 25% in Kerala Mortality rate is
Compared to a 97 percent mortality rate from this disease globally, it is only 25 percent in Kerala. Till July 2024, all the cases registered in India had resulted in the death of the patient, but a 14-year-old boy from Kozhikode district became the first Indian to survive this disease. He is only the 11th person to survive PAM in the world. No concrete treatment has been discovered yet. There is no effective treatment for this disease yet. Doctors currently treat it with medicines like amphotericin B, azithromycin, fluconazole, rifampin, miltefosine, and dexamethasone. In the initial stage, there are problems like headache, fever, nausea, and later the patient is likely to have stiffness in the neck, seizures, or hallucinations.

The patient can reach a critical condition in five days. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most people suffering from PAM die within 1 to 18 days of the onset of symptoms. It usually causes coma and death after five days. This infection does not spread from human to human.