Malappuram again reported a fresh case of deadly ‘brain-eating amoeba’ infection. A six-year-old child is currently under treatment for amoebic meningoencephalitis, a rare but highly fatal brain infection. The case adds to growing public health concerns as Kerala continues to witness a rise in such infections. So far in 2025, the state has recorded 69 confirmed cases and 19 deaths — including a three-month-old infant and a 52-year-old woman in Kozhikode, both of whom died in August. A nine-year-old girl had also succumbed earlier the same month.
Health Minister Veena George told the State Assembly that worsening water pollution and rising ambient temperatures may be creating favourable conditions for the amoeba to thrive in waterbodies. The organism typically enters the body through the nose when individuals bathe or swim in contaminated water. Once inside the brain, the infection progresses rapidly and is often fatal.
Naegleria fowleri is an amoeba that lives throughout the world in warm and shallow bodies of fresh water, such as lakes, rivers and hot springs. It also lives in soil. It’s considered a free-living organism because it doesn’t need a host to live.
People who become infected by this amoeba develop a condition called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). PAM is a very serious infection of the central nervous system that’s almost always fatal. The infection occurs when the amoeba known as Naegleria fowleri gets into your brain through your nasal cavity.
It can enter your body if you inhale any infected water. Usually, the amoeba lives in freshwater bodies of water that are warm, including hot springs (geothermal water). You can also be infected by inhaling infected dust.
