A 15-year-old boy died of Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM) or Amoebic Encephalitis in Alappuzha district of Kerala on July 7, Friday. Gurudath, a 10th standard student, son of Anil Kumar and Shalini, had been on treatment at Alappuzha Medical College hospital since July 1. According to Kerala Health Minister Veena George, the state has previously seen five PAM cases-  one each in 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2022. All the patients died as the condition is usually fatal. Gurudath was diagnosed with PAM in June after he experienced fever and seizures.

¨It is not a contagious infection. This happens only very rarely, there is no need to panic. There were five such cases earlier. The amoeba is found in stagnant waters and can enter through the thin skin of the nose,” Health Minister Veena George told the media.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) based out of the US, PAM is a brain infection caused by an amoeba or single-celled living organism called Naegleria fowleri. This particular amoeba lives in soil and warm fresh water, such as lakes, rivers, and hot springs. It is commonly called the ‘brain-eating amoeba’ because it can cause a brain infection when water containing the amoeba goes up the nose. The condition is rare even in the US where annually about three people get infected.

CDC says that people become infected when water containing Naegleria fowleri enters the nose, when they are swimming or have nasal exposure to infected water.  “People do not become infected from drinking contaminated water,” CDC says.

The symptoms begin with severe frontal headache, fever, nausea and vomiting. PAM is treated with a combination of drugs. Though it is a highly fatal infection, there have been documented cases where people have survived.