Brain-eating amoeba kills Kerala teen

Doctors advise against taking baths in contaminated water. Representation pic

A teenager affected by a rare brain infection caused by free-living amoeba living in contaminated waters died in Kerala's Alappuzha district, state Health Minister Veena George said on Friday.

The 15-year-old native of nearby Panavalli in Alappuzha district caught the disease called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, caused by a brain-eating amoeba. George said five other cases had been reported in the state since 2016. "All the infected patients had died," she said, adding that the mortality rate was 100 per cent.

The main symptoms of the disease are fever, headache, vomiting and seizures. The amoeba is found in still water, George said. Doctors said the amoeba enters the body through the nose, hence people should avoid taking baths in contaminated water.

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