Ten people, who were under treatment for amoebic meningoencephalitis in Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, have been discharged on Thursday, September 12, after their recovery. The news of their recovery gains prominence since the fatality rate of amoebic meningoencephalitis, a brain infection that can cause death within a week, is 97%. Worldwide, only 11 people have been known to survive the disease. Kerala's Health Ministry said in a release that early diagnosis and treatment of the infection has led to the historic recovery.
Less than two months ago, a 27 year old man from Kannaravila in Neyyattinkara of Thiruvananthapuram, passed away from the disease, which was diagnosed days after his death. Following this, five other men who had bathed in the same pond – Kavinkulam near Kannaravila – as the deceased man were also found to be infected, and aspersions were cast on the mossy pond as a possible cause of the infection. However, a sixth man who had not bathed in the pond was also infected.
Amoebic encephalitis develops from a certain amoeba -- Naegleria Fowleri -- found in contaminated water bodies. The amoeba enters the body of those who come in touch with the water, through the nose, and then reaches the brain through the nasal route. It usually affects children and young people in their early 20s.
A wave of the infection broke out in Kerala this year after a five year old child from Malappuram died in May, and two more children from Kannur and Kozhikode also succumbed to the disease within two months. Two other children were also infected -- in Kozhikode and Thrissur -- but timely treatment saved them.
These many occurrences of the disease are rare, and the fact that cases in Thiruvananthapuram were found in individuals as old as 27, also posed an unusual scenario. There are also questions on the source of the infection for the other patients in Thiruvananthapuram, who had not bathed in the Kavinkulam pond, or known to have entered any other contaminated water body.
