Thiruvananthapuram: Another case of amoebic meningoencephalitis (brain fever) was reported in the capital city on Sunday. Sharanya (24), a resident of Navaikulam, has tested positive for the infection.
Previously, cases were detected in Kannaravila, Neyyattinkara, and Peroorkada in Thiruvananthapuram. The source of the earlier infections remains unidentified, and this new case marks the third location in the district where the disease has emerged.
Sharanya is currently undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram. The confirmation of her diagnosis was received on Sunday after the samples were tested. Sharanya informed medical personnel that she had recently bathed in a canal at Edamon in Navaikulam.
There are now seven patients, including Sharanya, under treatment for the disease at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College. According to hospital authorities, the condition of all the patients is satisfactory. A doctor mentioned that they are being treated with medicines imported from Germany.
In the first reported case of amoebic meningoencephalitis in the district, Akhil (27) from Kannaravila, Neyyattinkara, succumbed to the disease on July 23. Shortly after, five of his friends also tested positive and are now under treatment at the Medical College Hospital.
All six had bathed in a temple pond in Kannaravila. A few days later, a man from Mannamoola in Peroorkada was also diagnosed with the disease. This man had not bathed in any public pond or water body, making the source of his infection a mystery.
Meanwhile, Health Department officials have collected samples of muddy water from the pond in Kannaravila for testing, and the results are awaited. A previous sample taken from the pond contained clear water, and no disease-causing amoeba was detected.
Incidentally, amoebic meningoencephalitis was confirmed in only about 200 cases worldwide. Hence, the presence of the amoeba at three locations in Thiruvananthapuram district is a cause for concern, according to health experts.
