Overview

• Kozhikode health officials confirmed three recent primary amoebic meningoencephalitis cases, including a nine-year-old’s death, with a three-month-old and a 40-year-old in intensive care at the government medical college.
• Investigators detected an amoeba in the well water at the deceased child’s Thamarassery home and surveyed people who used the source; her brother is under observation with fever but no other symptoms.
• The district issued a public alert and urged residents to avoid bathing in stagnant freshwater, use nose clips when swimming, and ensure proper chlorination of pools, tanks, and wells.
• Health teams began chlorination drives in Omassery and Annassery and treated about 60 water sources near the girl’s residence as part of source-tracing and community protection.
• Officials emphasized that PAM is extremely rare, does not spread from person to person, and typically occurs when contaminated water enters the nose, underscoring the need for early symptom reporting.