A 73-year-old woman from Nellikuzhi in Kothamangalam, within Ernakulam district, India, has died after contracting primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a rare but highly fatal infection of the central nervous system.
The state Health Department confirmed that the death was caused by PAM, an uncommon disease triggered by free-living amoebae typically present in warm freshwater environments such as rivers, ponds, and lakes. Officials noted that the infection can, in rare cases, also occur through poorly maintained swimming pools.
According to senior health officials, the woman passed away on May 15 at a private hospital in Kothamangalam. Her illness began on May 6 with symptoms such as fever and headache. She was first admitted on May 8 but was later transferred to a hospital in Aluva the same day as her condition deteriorated. After further decline, she was moved back to the original hospital in Kothamangalam, where she remained critically ill until her death.
The deceased, who worked under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, is suspected to have been exposed after washing her face with water drawn from a canal. Health officials explained that PAM is caused by Naegleria fowleri, an amoeba that thrives in warm, stagnant freshwater bodies, including lakes, ponds, and rivers.
Following confirmation of the case, health authorities examined around 20 individuals who had worked alongside her, with no symptoms reported among them so far. Preventive sanitation measures, including superchlorination of water sources and wells, were implemented in Nellikuzhi panchayat.
District Medical Officer for Ernakulam, Dr. R Shahirshah, stated that precautionary efforts have been strengthened and urged the public to avoid bathing or swimming in unsafe or stagnant water bodies to reduce the risk of infection.
