Daijiworld Media Network - Kasargod (SP)

Kasargod, May 21: After it was confirmed that a ten-year-old girl who died at Perinthalmanna in Malappuram district had been infected with amebic meningitis (a form of brain fever), the health department has issued warning about the prevalence of brain fever.

This disease is caused by Naegleria Fowleri, a kind of amoeba, which spreads through contaminated water that enters the body through one's nose. Presence of this type of amoeba that enters brain and infects it, is likely in the dirty water of rivulets and other sources of dirty water.

Aishwarya, a girl from Aripra in Perinthalmanna, Malappuram, who developed brain fever, had died in a private hospital during treatment. The first incident of amoebic meningitis was reported in Kerala in March 2016, when a plus one male student aged 17 suffered from this disease and breathed his last.

The authorities treating the girl who died of brain fever recently had got information that she had taken bath in a nearby rivulet. Therefore, the hospital had tested her for the presence of this amoeba and the tests proved positive. The officials visited the residence of the girl and checked the facts. Samples from nearby areas were collected. These amoeba enters the bodies through nose and attacks the brain. They take in liquids in the brain which help sensory organs. Even though these amoeba are present in the mud, they remain inactive as long they are there.

The amoeba can grow even if it gets contaminated water that is a little warm. Mostly they are found in rivulets, canals, and swimming pools. They proliferate during the summer and when the water gets contaminated. They can survive in water up to a temperature of 46 degree celsius but they cannot survive in very cold or saline water.

The health department has asked the people to immediately get treated if symptoms of this ailment including fever are noticed.