Kerala: A 15 year old boy in Kerala’s Alappuzha district has died of extremely rare Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis brain infection. As per state Health Minister Veena George there have only been 6 recorded cases of the disease in the last 7 years. The boy was native of Panavalli in Alappuzha district. Not much information has been disclosed about the boy.
The infection occurs when the non-parasitic amoeba enters the body through nose and infects the brain. A case of Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis brain infection has been detected in Alappuzha district before. Keeping in the view the seriousness of the disease, the district health officials have urged individuals to avoid taking baths in contaminated water.
Symptoms of infection
The symptoms for the disease include headache, fever, seizures and vomiting. All the patients who are infected with the disease have died. In the preliminary stages the symptoms of disease are similar to common illness. Without proper and immediate treatment a patient might die within few days of getting infected.
Prevention
The best course of action for preventing Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis is to avoid taking baths in sources of freshwater that might contain amoeba. It is advisable to use nose clips or avoid submerging head when taking bath in freshwater.
Antifungal medications, such as amphotericin B are employed to deter the effects of infection. The disease is not communicable and there’s no evidence to support its spread through water vapor or aerosol droplets. The disease is also cited as case of ‘brain-eating amoeba.’
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