More amoebic meningoencephalitis cases and deaths were reported from across the State over the past three days, taking the total number of cases reported so far in Kerala this year to 144, with 30 deaths.
On Saturday, two new PCR-confirmed cases were reported from Palakkad and Kasaragod. The case from Kasaragod is that of a young girl child who has a history of exposure to a waterbody in the neighbourhood and the species was identified by PCR as Naegleria fowleri, according to Health officials.
The death of a 60-year-old male, a stroke and Parkinson’s disease patient, following amoebic meningoencephalitis was reported from Valiyasala in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.
Health officials said that this is the second death being reported in a chronically ill person in the last few days. A 70-year-old chronically ill woman’s death due to amoebic infection had been reported last Tuesday from Pothencode in the district
Thiruvananthapuram continues to have the highest number of amoebic infection cases, with 47 cases and six deaths so far. Four cases were reported in the district over the past three days, from Kallara, Kanjiramkulam, Mahadevapuram and Puthenthope.
Health officials said that many were atypical cases and that in some cases, initial tests for amoebic meningoencephalitis had been negative. Though earlier, wet microscopy of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were not performed as a matter of routine. Neurologists were now sending all CSF samples for wet microscopy, along with other standards tests for vascular or infective causes.
Even the Regional Cancer Centre was routinely finding amoeba cases through wet microscopy now, officials said.
Though aggressive testing was yielding many cases, early detection is also helping save lives too, they added.
Published – October 25, 2025 11:24 pm IST
