'Brain-eating' amoeba case reported in Thiruvananthapuram again; 13-year-old diagnosed with disease during eye examination

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state witnessed yet another outbreak of deadly amoebic meningoencephalitis disease after a 13-year-old native of Anchuthengu was diagnosed with it.

The disease was detected during an eye examination at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College. It is reported that the child did not use the water from the ponds or nearby water bodies. Hospital authorities raised concern about the child's health. The panchayat health department conducted chlorination at the house of the infected child. The child was admitted to the hospital four days ago. The blood test results were positive.

No one else from the child’s family showed any symptoms of the disease. A native of Pothencode who was undergoing treatment at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital due to amoebic meningoencephalitis died yesterday. She was 78 years old. The elderly woman was confirmed to be infected with the disease on the 16th of this month. The source of the disease is unclear. Health workers visited the elderly woman's house in Pothencode and conducted tests. Water samples were also collected.