Kerala has reported 13 amoebic meningoencephalitis cases in the last three days, including two deaths. Twelve of these cases were reported from various parts of Thiruvananthapuram district.
As on Saturday, the State has reported 133 cases, including 27 deaths this year. According to Health department sources, 56 persons are at present undergoing treatment for amoebic meningoencephalitis in various public and private hospitals across the State.
A spate of cases in Thiruvananthapuram district — 12 between Thursday to Saturday and scattered across the district, including Aanad, Mangalapuram, Pangappara, Rajaji Nagar, Thonnakkal, Vattiyurkavu, among others — has triggered much anxiety among the public.
Some cases were picked up randomly by the Neurology department at Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Thiruvananthapuram, from patients who came to outpatient clinics complaining of various neurological issues like persistent headaches, seizures, or vision problems. The source of infection remains unclear in most cases. Most of these cases do not have the history of exposure to any waterbodies.
In some cases, people may have come into contact with waterbodies (Acanthamoeba can enter through skin wounds, especially in immunocompromised people). While Naegleria fowleri has a shorter incubation period and almost always has a clear link to recent exposure to waterbodies, in the case of Acanthamoeba, it is not necessary that an epidemiological link can always be established.
“Except for a small subset who develops serious neurological symptoms, most of the patients seem to be having mild symptoms, not even fever,” a senior Health official said.
Keeping off pools
Meanwhile, despite assurances from the authorities that chlorinated swimming pools are safe, the spate of amoebic meningoencephalitis cases seem to have created much anxiety among those who regularly visit the pools in Thiruvananthapuram city for swimming. Many pool regulars, for whom swimming is part of their daily exercise routine, said that they have now switched to walking.
The Health department had issued a directive regarding the chlorination of swimming pools, the level of chlorine to be maintained in water at all times and that a registry had to be maintained of the chlorine levels recorded on each day.
The 500-odd members of Ananthapuri Swimming Pool Users’ Association, who are regulars at the massive swimming pool in the Jimmy George Sports Hub in the capital, are quite concerned about members, especially senior citizens, dropping out of their swimming schedule.
“We have been continuously interacting with authorities, including the pool management, the Sports and Health Directorates, to ensure that the pool is regularly cleaned and maintained as per the government directives and that there is never a shortage of chlorine stock. A lot of our members are senior citizens for whom swimming is a recreation as well as an injury-free form of physical activity. Our concerns have been addressed and our pool is the cleanest in the city now,” says B. Gopakumar, the president of the association.
Published – October 18, 2025 10:44 pm IST
