THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: One more person has died in the state due to amoebic meningoencephalitis. The deceased was a 48-year-old woman from the Maruthamon region of Pattazhi in Kollam. She was undergoing treatment at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital and worked as a cashew factory labourer. The disease was confirmed on September 23. This is the third death from amoebic brain fever reported in the state this month.

Amoebic brain fever occurs when certain types of amoebae—Naegleria fowleri, Acanthamoeba, Sappinia, Balamuthia, and Vermamoeba—infect the brain. The disease generally affects people who dive or swim in stagnant water. The amoeba can enter the brain through tiny openings in the thin membrane that separates the nose from the brain, or through perforations in the eardrum. It has a fatality rate of over 97 percent. The infection does not spread from person to person. Symptoms usually appear within five to ten days after exposure.