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A resident of Kerala's Malappuram district died on Thursday from amoebic meningoencephalitis, bringing the district's death toll from the disease to five, officials said.
Shaji, 49, a resident of Chelembra in Malappuram, died at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) in Kozhikode. He had been undergoing treatment at the hospital for over a week. The source of the infection is still unclear. Malappuram District Medical Officer (DMO) Dr R Renuka said that 17 cases and five deaths were reported in the district due to amoebic meningoencephalitis, a rare but fatal brain infection caused by free-living amoebae found in freshwater, lakes and rivers. An official meeting was held in the Wandoor block of the district, where two cases had recently been reported. "We had 2 cases of amoebic meningoencephalitis in the Wandoor block. So, we conducted a meeting along with the MLA and other officials. We planned to conduct mass awareness in the block among the public. We planned to have the cleaning of water tanks and all the water containers...There are 17 cases altogether in Malappuram district and five deaths," Dr R Renuka told ANI. Earlier, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had requested local self-government authorities to strengthen preventive measures. Cases were also reported from Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kozhikode, and Wayanad. The state government launched the "Water is life" ( Jalamaan Jeevan) campaign to prevent water-borne diseases. This program involves the Health Department, Local Self-Government Department, General Education Department, Haritha Keralam Mission, etc. The "Water is Life" campaign was launched under the leadership of the Haritha Keralam Mission. In this regard, activities should be undertaken to chlorinate all the wells in the state and clean the water tanks in homes and institutions on August 30 and 31. This has been proven to be effective in preventing water-borne diseases, including amoebic encephalitis. As per the mission, it should be ensured that all wells in the local government area are chlorinated and that all water tanks are cleaned. Additionally, awareness activities targeting schools and follow-up initiatives, such as cleaning the local water sources, should be implemented. (ANI)
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