Health officials in Kozhikode checking if well water could be PAM source

Health department officials here are checking if well water could be a source of infection for one of the recently reported primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) cases in Kozhikode district.

At present, three persons – a three-month-old child and a 40-year-old man from Kozhikode and an 11-year-old child from Chelari in Malappuram – are undergoing treatment for PAM at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Kozhikode. The three-month-old child is reportedly in a critical condition. A nine-year-old native of Thamarassery had earlier died of the infection. Two of her siblings are under observation at the hospital with fever-like symptoms.

Meanwhile, the presence of Naegleria fowleri, the infection-causing organism, was detected in a well on the premises of the three-month-old child a few days ago. This prompted health officials to suspect that the well water could be a source of the infection, in addition to pond water. However, a senior official told The Hindu on Thursday (August 21. 2025) that such organisms are normally found in most wells and ponds. Moreover, the strain of the organism found in the child’s body was different from the one found in the well. Nevertheless, until no other source of the infection is identified, the suspicion remains directed towards the well water, the official said. The organism could have entered the child’s body during bathing, as some people reportedly follow the practice of dripping water into children’s noses at the time, he added.