Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan Discusses Amoebic Meningoencephalitis Safety Measures

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], July 5: The Kerala government held a meeting to discuss issues related to amoebic meningoencephalitis under the leadership of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. CM Vijayan instructed that people should avoid swimming in unclean water bodies and emphasized that swimming pools must be properly chlorinated.

“Children are particularly susceptible to this disease, so extra caution should be taken when they enter water bodies. The use of swimming nose clips can help prevent the infection,” he said. The Chief Minister also urged everyone to ensure water bodies are kept clean.

Health Minister Veena George, Chief Secretary Dr. Venu V., Additional Chief Secretary of the Health Department Rajan Khobragade, and Director of the Virology Institute Dr. E. Sreekumar attended the meeting.

Earlier on July 2, Kerala Health Minister Veena George held a high-level meeting of the health department in the background of two deaths and one case of hospitalization due to amoebic meningoencephalitis in the last two months.

Amoebic meningoencephalitis is a very rare disease in people who have contact with standing or running water sources. Statistics indicate that only 2.6 out of 10 lakh people who come in contact with such water in the world get this disease. The disease usually occurs when Naegleria fowleri, a type of amoeba, infects the brain. This disease is not transmitted from human to human.

The amoeba that lives in stagnant water enters the human body through the thin skin of the nose and causes encephalitis, which seriously affects the brain. Symptoms appear within one to nine days of infection. The primary symptoms are severe headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, and difficulty turning the neck. Later, when it reaches a critical condition, there are symptoms like epilepsy, loss of consciousness, and memory loss. Diagnosis is made by taking fluid from the spinal cord and testing it. People who bathe in stagnant water should report these symptoms and seek treatment.