Amoebic meningoencephalitis, a rare but fatal brain infection caused by free-living amoebae found in freshwater, lakes and rivers, has emerged as a public health concern in Kerala.
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Kerala reported another death due to amoebic meningoencephalitis on Thursday (September 11, 2025), the sixth in a month due to the infection, when a native of Malappuram died at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) in Kozhikode.
Shaji, 49, a resident of Chelembra in Malappuram, had been undergoing treatment at the hospital for over a week. The source of the infection is still unclear.
At present, nine persons are receiving treatment for the disease at the MCH. Another patient, who tested positive for the infection on September 10, is receiving treatment at a private hospital in Kozhikode city.
Since August 14, Anaya, a native of Thamarassery, a three-month-old child from Omassery, both in Kozhikode district, Ratheesh, a native of Wayanad, and Shobhana, a native of Wandoor in Malappuram, died in a span of less than a month due to the deadly disease affecting the brain.
On September 8, two children undergoing treatment for amoebic meningoencephalitis were discharged from the Kozhikode MCH after they had recovered.
Amoebic meningoencephalitis, a rare but fatal brain infection caused by free-living amoebae found in freshwater, lakes and rivers, has emerged as a public health concern in Kerala.
Published – September 11, 2025 11:40 am IST
